XTbe  xantverstts  of  Gbtcago 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  ENGLISH  LIT- 
ERATURE ON  FRIEDRICH 
VON  HAGEDORN 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED   TO   THE   FACULTY   OF   THE   GRADUATE   SCHOOL   OF   ARTS 

AND   LITERATURE  IN   CANDIDACY   FOR .  THE   DEGREE 

OF  DOCTOR   OF   PHILOSOPHY 

(DEPARTMENT  OF  GERMANIC  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURES) 


BY 
BERTHA  REED  COFFMAN 


Reprinted  from 

Modern  Philology,  Vol.  XII,  Nos.  5,  8,  and  11 

Chicago,  1914-1915 


XTbe  XHniverstts  of  Gbicago 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  ENGLISH  LIT- 
ERATURE ON  FRIEDRICH 
VON  HAGEDORN 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY   OF  THE   GRADUATE   SCHOOL   OF   ARTS 

AND  LITERATURE  IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE 

OF  DOCTOR   OF   PHILOSOPHY 

(DEPARTMENT  OF  GERMANIC  LANGUAGES  AND  LITERATURES) 


BY 
BERTHA  REED  COFFMAN 


Reprinted  from 

Modern  Philology,  Vol.  XII,  Nos.  5,  8,  and  11 

Chicago,  1914-1915 


V  v 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

This  is  the  first  of  a  number  of  proposed  studies  on  Hagedom's 
literary  relations.  The  subject  was  suggested  to  me  by  Professor 
J.  H.  Heinzelmann,  formerly  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  now  of 
the  University  of  Manitoba.  He  has  been  helpful  to  me  in  many 
respects.  Professor  Starr  Willard  Cutting,  Professor  Philip  S. 
Allen,  and  Professor  Robert  M.  Lovett,  of  the  University  of 
Chicago,  also  have  made  valuable  suggestions. 


Reprinted  from  Modern  Philology,  Vol.  XII,  No.  5,  November  1914 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  ON 
FRIEDRICH  VON  HAGEDORN 


INTRODUCTION 

It  is  our  purpose  in  this  study  to  show  that  Friedrich  von  Hage- 
dorn  was  influenced  by  English  literature  far  more  than  is  generally 
supposed.  The  studies  which  have  thus  far  considered  his  relation 
to  England  have  all  been  very  limited  in  their  scope;  Alfons  Frick1 
concerns  himself  only  with  the  influence  of  Pope  on  Hagedorn's 
didactic  poem,  Gluckseligkeit,  R.  Maack2  simply  mentions  Hagedorn's 
Freundschaft  in  connection  with  Pope,  and  Wukadinovic 3  treats  in  a 
more  comprehensive  study  Prior's  relation  to  Hagedorn,  yet  ignores 
altogether  Hagedorn's  didactic  poetry. 

No  one  has  pretended  to  make  a  complete  study  of  Hagedorn  with 
reference  to  his  English  contemporaries,  yet  no  German  writer 
deserves  such  study  more  than  this  poet,  who  probably  did  more 
than  anyone  else  in  his  time  to  popularize  English  literature  in 
Germany  and  to  make  it  an  important  influence  in  German  literature. 

The  following  brief  sketch  of  his  life  shows  something  of  his 
literary  environment.  On  the  third  of  April,  1708,  in  Hamburg, 
he  was  born  in  a  home  where  the  poets  of  that  city  were  frequent 
guests.  Among  these  poets  were  Brockes,  Konig,  Hunold,  Feind, 
Amthor,  Wernicke,  and  Richey,  all  friends  of  his  father.  Their 
wide  interests  helped  to  develop  in  him  cosmopolitan  tastes. 

His  father  himself,  Hans  Statius  von  Hagedorn,4  after  attending 
the  University  of  Jena  and  journeying  through  Italy,  had  entered 
the  diplomatic  service  between  Copenhagen  and  Hamburg,  where  his 

1  Alfons  Frick,  tfber  Pope's  Einfluss  auf  Hagedorn  (Wien,  1900). 

2  R.  Maack,  Vber  Pope's  Einfluss  auf  die  Idylle  u.  das  Lehrgedicht  in  Deutschland 
(Hamburg,  1895). 

»  Spiridion  Wukadinovic,  Prior  in  Deutschland  (Graz,  1895). 

4  Since  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  has  been  taken  for  granted  that  the 
Hagedorn  family  belonged  to  the  nobility,  until  the  matter  was  questioned  recently  by 
Hubert  Stierling  in  his  Leben  und  Bildnis  Friedrichs  von  Hagedorn  (Hamburg,  1911). 
Our  poet  seems  to  have  been  very  indifferent  concerning  his  claims  to  nobility,  though 
his  brother,  who  became  Geheimer  Legationsrat  in  Dresden,  guarded  them  very  jealously. 
313]  121  [Modern  Philology,  November,  1914 


122  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

position  as  Danish  Konverenzrat  gave  him  and  his  family  recognition 
among  the  best  citizens  of  Hamburg.  During  those  years  he  col- 
lected a  good  library,  which  later  became  the  property  of  his  two  sons. 
Although  the  books  in  this  library  were  chiefly  French,  the  friend- 
ship of  the  leading  men  of  this  city  who  were  interesting  themselves 
in  English  thought  indicates  in  what  direction  Friedrich's  tastes 
early  turned. 

After  several  years  of  instruction  from  a  private  tutor  he  was 
sent  at  the  age  of  fourteen  to  the  Gymnasium  at  Hamburg,  where 
Fabricius,  Richey,  and  Wolff  were  then  teaching.1  Through  Fabri- 
cius  and  Richey,  who  were  promoters  of  the  Hamburger  Patriot, 
Hagedorn  early  became  interested  in  the  moral  weeklies  and  in 
English  literature.  As  early  as  1726  he  contributed  to  Der  Patriot2 
two  didactic  letters  in  elegant,  thoughtful  prose.  These  treated  of 
the  mistakes  and  follies  of  youth;  of  "eleganten  Miissigang,"  "der 
Versaumniss  der  Wissenschaften  und  der  Pflichten,"  "der  eitelen 
Hoffahrt,"  "der  Unmassigkeit,"  etc.,  the  type  of  subjects  which 
found  favor  in  the  moral  weeklies  of  that  time.  This  same  year 
Hagedorn  matriculated  at  the  University  of  Jena,  where  he  remained, 
however,  only  a  year  and  a  half.  Instead  of  devoting  himself  faith- 
fully to  the  law,  as  his  mother  wished,3  he  spent  most  of  his  time 
studying  literature  and  philosophy. 

It  was  during  this  time  that  his  attention  was  first  directed  to 
the  philosophy  of  Wolff,4  which  he  called  "der  vornehmste  Glanz, 
der  den  sonst  einigermassen  dunkeln  Zustand  der  Jenischen  Aka- 

1  Stierling,  op.  cit.,  p.  20. 
»  Der  Patriot,  No.  111. 

•  His  father  had  died  in  1722.  While  falling  heir  to  his  father's  love  of  literature,  he 
inherited  as  well  his  failure  to  succeed  financially;  and  this  led  him  into  much  difficulty 
with  his  mother,  whose  thrift,  sense  of  economy,  and  love  of  outward  appearance  made 
it  impossible  for  her  to  sympathize  with  a  person  of  his  temperament.  His  extravagance 
and  lack  of  interest  in  routine  work  caused  her  much  anxiety,  while  his  artistic  taste 
failed  to  meet  with  encouragement  from  her.  This  is  shown  in  her  letters  written  to  her 
son,  Ludwig  von  Hagedorn,  while  he  was  studying  at  Dresden.  These  are  of  peculiar 
interest  now,  not  only  because  there  is  a  great  deal  of  information  in  them  concerning  the 
Hagedorn  family,  but  because  letter-writers  among  women  were  rare  early  in  the  century, 
and  because  these  letters  contain  interesting  comments  on  the  customs  of  the  time, 
references  to  such  everyday  matters  as  clothes,  food,  and  drink,  interspersed  with  advice 
and  admonition  to  her  favorite  son. 

*  Throughout  his  life  didactic  writing  made  a  strong  appeal  to  Hagedorn.  Stephen 
List  in  his  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn  und  die  antike  Literatur  (Leipzig,  1909),  p.  2,  has 
shown  that  our  poet  knew  Horace  even  before  he  entered  the  Gymnasium. 

314 


Influence  of  English  on  von  Hagedorn  123 

demie  lichte  macht."1  By  adopting  this  philosophy,  Hagedorn 
became  marked  as  a  progressive  in  the  university  circle;2  for  at  that 
time  the  conservative  element,  which  was  very  strong,  opposed 
bitterly  the  new  rationalism  of  Wolff. 

When  we  recall  the  many  points  of  similarity  between  the 
teachings  of  Wolff  and  those  of  Shaftesbury,  his  English  contempo- 
rary, we  can  see  how  this  German  Rationalism  prepared  Hagedorn 
for  the  Deism  of  Shaftesbury  and  Bolingbroke.3 

After  his  return  from  Jena,  he  brought  out  in  April,  1729,  his 
first  collection  of  poems,4  a  slender  volume  containing  sixteen  selec- 
tions; the  same  year  he  secured  the  appointment  as  secretary  to 
Freiherr  von  Sohlenthal,  the  Danish  ambassador  to  London,  serving 
in  this  capacity  until  the  recall  of  Sohlenthal  in  1731.  He  then 
renewed  his  effort  to  get  an  appointment,  this  time  either  in  England 
or  in  Denmark,  but  was  disappointed,  until  1733,  when  he  was  made 
secretary  to  the  " English  Court"  in  Hamburg,  an  old  Handels- 
gesellschaft.5  This  position,  providing  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
pounds  sterling,  a  free  dwelling,  a  moderate  amount  of  work,  and  a 
standing  of  respect,  he  held  until  his  death,  October  28,  1754. 
Through  this  position  he  had  an  opportunity  greater  than  was 
afforded  any  other  German  writer  of  his  time  of  keeping  in  direct 
touch  with  the  English  spirit.     His  marriage  to  an  English  woman, 


1  In  a  letter  written  by  Hagedorn  while  at  Jena  (Hagedorn's  Poetische  Werke,  edited 
by  J.  J.  Eschenburg,  Hamburg,  1800,  V,  12)  September  23,  1727,  to  Weichmann,  the 
editor  of  the  Poesie  der  Niedersachsen,  to  which  he  made  several  contributions.  This 
edition  will  be  quoted  throughout  unless  it  is  otherwise  stated. 

2  In  the  above-mentioned  letter  he  wrote  also:  "  Der  Mensch  ist  eins  der  unaufloslich- 
sten  Geheimnisse.  Wir  gleichen  sehr  oft  den  alten  Leuten,  die  aus  blossen  Eigensinn,  und 
der  neuen  Welt  zum  Trotz,  in  derselben  Tracht  einherziehen,  die  in  ihrer  Jugend  ge- 
brauchlich  war.  Die  Neuigkeiten  sind  uns  verhasst;  unsere  Fehler  sind  uns  Tugenden: 
abundamus  dulcibus  vitiis.  Neue  Erflndungen  in  den  Wissenschaften  sind  der  mensch- 
lichen  Tragheit  und  Einbildung  entgegen." 

3  Hagedorn's  reading  of  the  English  moral  weeklies,  also,  had  aided  in  acquainting 
him  with  the  deistic  writers. 

*  F.  von  H.  Versuch  einiger  Gedichte,  oder  erlesene  Proben  poetische  Nebenstunden.  Hage- 
dorn was  induced  by  his  friends  to  print  these  poems,  but  wished  very  soon  aft^nvard  that 
he  had  not  allowed  them  to  be  published.  Later,  in  preparing  the  complete  edition  of  his 
works,  Hagedorn  omitted  most  of  those  which  had  appeared  in  1729,  and  used  those  which 
were  included  merely  as  a  basis  for  new  poems.  Throughout  his  life  he  expressed  the 
wish  frequently  that  he  might  destroy  them.  Cf.  Hagedorn's  Werke,  IV,  36,  An- 
merkung,  also  V,  86. 

8  Stierling,  op.  cit.,  p.  26. 

315 


124  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Elizabeth  Butler,  the  daughter  of  the  English  court  tailor,  formed 
one  more  bond  to  unite  him  to  England.1 

As  we  have  seen,  from  his  earliest  childhood  to  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  surrounded  by  men  interested  in  bringing  English 
literature  to  Germany.  Chief  among  those  of  the  early  group  was 
Brockes,  who  made  the  first  German  translation  of  Thomson's 
Seasons.  Associated  with  Brockes  in  the  publication  of  Der  Patriot 
were  Richey,  already  mentioned  as  a  promoter  of  this  paper,  and 
Konig,  its  founder,  both  of  whom  we  have  referred  to  as  friends  of  his 
father  during  his  own  childhood.  The  acquaintance  of  such  men 
during  those  early  years  gave  him,  without  doubt,  the  opportunity 
of  hearing  many  a  discussion  of  Pope,  Thomson,  and  Addison.  As 
will  be  shown  in  the  following  sections,  Hagedorn  later  became 
associated  with  these  men  in  disseminating  English  literature 
throughout  Germany  by  means  of  the  moral  weeklies  of  Hamburg. 

Among  his  intimate  German  friends  of  his  later  years  should  be 
mentioned  Giseke,  Klopstock,  Ebert,  Bodmer,  and  Salomon  Gessner, 
all  of  whom  were  strongly  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  English  literature. 

THE   SIGNIFICANCE   OF  THE   MORAL  WEEKLIES  IN   GERMANY 

On  account  of  the  importance  of  the  moral  weeklies  in  Hagedorn's 
literary  life,  it  is  in  place  here  to  give  a  brief  resume  of  them.  They 
were  initiated  in  1701  with  Steele's  The  Christian  Hero.  This  was 
followed  in  1704  by  Defoe's  Weekly  Review  of  the  Affairs  of  France,2 
and  later  by  the  three  journals  founded  by  Steele  and  Addison, 
the  Tatler  (1709),  the  Spectator  (1711),  and  the  Guardian  (1713), 
which  became  so  popular  in  Germany  that  over  five  hundred  imita- 
tions of  them  appeared  during  the  eighteenth  century.8 

1  We  know  very  little  about  his  wife,  but  Stierling  (op.  cit.,  pp.  30  fit.),  who  is  the 
best  authority  on  Hagedorn's  home  life,  claims  that  critics  have  falsely  represented  her 
as  old,  hump-backed,  and  lacking  in  means,  for  the  sake  of  excusing  Hagedorn  for  his 
irregularities.  Whether  Hagedorn  found  her  as  unattractive  as  Eschenburg  (Hagedorn's 
Werke,  IV,  12)  represents  her,  or  whether  he  was  disappointed,  as  Muncker  asserts 
(Deutsche  Nat.  Lit.,  XLV,  7),  on  finding  that  her  fortune  was  not  large,  we  cannot  say 
We  know  only  that  she  was  six  months  younger  than  Hagedorn  (Stierling,  op.  cit.,  p.  31) , 
that  she  had  a  small  fortune  (ibid.),  and  that  she  nursed  him  in  his  last  illness  (ibid.). 

*  Defoe's  journal  was  long  considered  the  first  of  this  type  of  literature,  but  Wilhelm 
Hartung  in  Die  deutschen  moralischen  Wochenschriften  als  Vorbild  G.  W.  Rabeners  (Halle, 
1911),  p.  10,  has  shown  this  to  be  an  error. 

'Maxim  Kawczynski,  Studien  zur  Literaturgeschichte  des  18.  Jhs.  I.  Moralische 
Zeitschriften  (Leipzig,  1880),  pp.  19-40. 

316 


Influence  of  English  on  von  Hagedorn  125 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  court  life  was  dominated  by  French 
influence,  it  is  significant  that  the  three  most  important  German 
moral  weeklies,  Der  Patriot,  founded  in  1724,  Die  Discourse  der 
Mahlern  in  1721,  and  Die  verniinftigen  Tadlerinnen  in  1725,  had  their 
beginning  in  Hamburg,1  Zurich,  and  Leipzig  respectively,  all  of 
which  were  as  far  as  possible  removed  from  the  courts. 

The  part  which  the  moral  weeklies  played  in  Germany  in  popu- 
larizing both  German  and  English  literature  is  very  important.  Like 
the  language  societies  of  the  preceding  century,  they  advocated  the 
elimination  of  foreign  words  and  the  development  of  the  German 
language,  emphasizing  brevity,  elegance,  and  humor.2  They  stood 
for  a  popular  demonstration  against  French  influence,  not  only  in  the 
language,  but  in  dress  and  deportment  as  well.  As  a  result  of 
this  agitation  on  the  part  of  the  moral  weeklies,  there  were  formed 
in  every  town  of  importance,  as  in  Hamburg,  societies  for  the  purpose 
of  discussing  and  working  out  the  ideas  which  had  been  suggested 
in  them.  These  discussions  led  up  to  the  making  of  plans  for  bet- 
ter educational  facilities,  civic  improvement,  and  advancement  in 
every  way. 

Notwithstanding  the  attempts  which  had  been  made  during  the 
seventeenth  century  on  the  part  of  individual  writers  to  free  them- 
selves from  French  influence,  the  fashion  set  by  Opitz  had  persisted 
down  into  the  eighteenth  century.  Such  forms  as  the  Volkslieder 
and  Puppenspiele  were  scorned  by  cultured  people.  According  to 
literary  standards  the  people  were  divided  into  two  groups,  the  one 
including  the  small  cultured  class,  which  followed  French  fashions, 
and  the  other  a  much  larger  group,  which  fostered  the  literature — if 
literature  it  could  be  called — which  was  written  for  the  Volk.  It 
was  in  uniting  these  two  literary  groups  that  the  moral  weeklies 
performed  their  greatest  function  in  Germany.3  This  was  brought 
about  by  inspiring  in  all  classes — for  all  classes  of  people  read  these 
weeklies — an  interest  in  Shakespeare,  Milton,  and   contemporary 

i  The  peculiar  importance  of  Hamburg  in  this  movement  will  be  more  fully  treated 
in  the  next  section. 

*  The  best  of  the  weeklies  suggested  for  private  libraries  lists  of  books,  which  included 
the  chief  contemporary  English  writers. 

» In  this  they  performed  a  far  greater  service  in  Germany  than  in  England,  where  the 
difference  between  these  two  types  of  literature  was  not  so  marked,  just  as  the  difference 
between  the  classes  of  people  for  whom  they  were  written  was  not  so  great. 

317 


126  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

English  writers.  Just  as  the  Franco-Prussian  War  at  a  later  period 
united  politically  all  sections  of  Germany  into  one  great  nation,  so 
the  moral  weeklies  succeeded  in  harmonizing  the  literary  factions  of 
the  country  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  classic  period  of  German 
literature. 

The  long  struggle  through  which  German  literature  had  to  pass 
before  it  could  find  itself  is  too  well  known  to  need  rehearsing  here.1 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  Hagedorn  was  one  of  the  first  of  German  writers 
to  make  the  transition  from  French  to  English  influence,  thus  coming 
into  closer  touch  with  the  classics  and  at  the  same  time  gaining  some 
independence  himself.  The  period  before  the  year  1729,  when  he 
went  to  England,  is  marked  in  him  chiefly  by  pseudo-Renaissance 
influence  and  an  interest  in  the  classics;  that  following  his  return  to 
Hamburg  shows  the  effect  of  English  life  and  literature  with  a  gradual 
tendency  on  his  part  to  become  more  vigorous  and  natural  in  expres- 
sion. In  fact,  it  was  these  English  influences  which  served  to 
heighten  Hagedorn's  admiration  for  classic  writers,  particularly 
Horace. 

THE   LITERARY  LIFE   IN  HAMBURG  IN  HAGEDORN'S  TIME 

Hagedorn's  long  residence  in  Hamburg  had  much  to  do  with 
keeping  him  in  the  forefront  of  this  struggle  on  the  part  of  German 
writers  to  break  away  from  French  influence  and  establish  a  real 
German  literature.  The  importance  of  his  native  city  in  the  literary 
and  commercial  life  of  Germany  can  scarcely  be  overestimated.  It 
was  fortunate  in  being  able  to  keep  out  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War, 
so  that  at  the  very  time  when  most  of  Germany  was  being  devastated 
it  was  carrying  on  a  profitable  business  with  its  near  neighbors,  the 
English  and  the  Dutch.  It  was  at  the  same  time  growing  in  an 
intellectual  way,  becoming  a  center  of  learning  even  earlier  than 
Zurich,  its  rival  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  the 
introduction  of  English  literature.  The  commercial  relations  of 
Hamburg  with  England  made  it  necessary  for  many  of  its  citizens 
to  know  English;  some  Englishmen  visited  Hamburg  for  com- 
mercial reasons,  and  others  lived  there.  Its  proximity  to  England, 
also,  gave  it  an  advantage  over  the  other  cities  of  Germany  in  the 

1  Cf.  Max  Koch,  Vber  die  Beziehung  der  englischen  Literatur  zur  deutschen  im  18.  Jh 
(Leipzig,  1883),  p.  6. 

318 


Influence  of  English  on  von  Hagedorn  127 

facility  with  which  it  could  secure  English  books.  In  view  of  these 
facts,  it  is  not  strange  that  it  was  one  of  the  first  German  cities  to 
adopt,  to  any  extent,  English  ideas  and  customs.  Die  deutsch- 
gesinnte  Genossenschaft  was  founded  there  in  1643  by  the  purist 
Philipp  von  Zesen,  and  the  Elbschwanenorden  near  there  in  1658  by 
the  hymn-writer  Johann  Rist,  both  important  in  freeing  the  national 
tongue  of  French  words,  thus  preparing  the  way  for  English  influence. 

Hamburg  was  also  the  home  of  early  German  opera.  As  Wil- 
helm  Scherer1  shows,  it  was  only  in  Hamburg  that  the  original 
German  opera  attained  any  true  and  lasting  success,  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  operas  being  performed  there  between  the  years 
1678  and  1738,  and  this  at  the  same  time  that  Italian  operas  were 
being  performed  in  Vienna,  Munich,  and  Dresden.  Not  until  1740 
was  an  Italian  troupe  established  in  Hamburg. 

As  early  as  1703  Georg  Friedrich  Handel  went  to  Hamburg, 
where  he  soon  became  director  of  the  orchestra  for  the  opera.  It 
was  here  that  he  composed  his  first  opera,  Almira.  He  spent  con- 
siderable time  composing  music  for  pietistic  texts  in  the  Hamburg 
operatic  style. 

It  is  significant,  too,  that  the  Volkslieder,  as  well  as  the  German 
opera,  were  still  popular  there  with  the  middle  classes  when  Hage- 
dorn began  his  literary  career.  This  is  an  important  observation, 
for  since  the  language  and  literature  of  Germany  and  England  were 
very  closely  related,  wherever  the  pure  German  spirit  remained, 
English  literature  found  a  ready  acceptance. 

Again,  Hamburg  has  the  honor  of  being  the  home  of  the  first 
German  moral  weekly,  Der  Vernilnftler,  which  began  its  existence 
when  our  poet  was  but  five  years  of  age.  As  a  further  matter  of 
interest  to  us,  it  was  published  by  Johann  Mattheson,  who  had 
formerly  been  secretary  of  the  German  embassy  at  London.  This 
was  followed  in  1718  by  a  similar  publication,  Die  lustige  Fama  aus 
der  ndrrischen  Welt,  also  published  in  Hamburg.  Furthermore, 
Hamburg  can  claim  the  best  and  most  influential  of  all  the  moral 
weeklies  which  were  brought  out  by  the  Germans,  Der  Patriot, 
which  has  already  been  mentioned.  It  was  published  weekly  for 
three  full  years,  with  4,500  subscribers  in  different  parts  of  Germany, 

*  Geschichte  der  deutschen  Liter atur  (Berlin,  1891),  p.  388. 

319 


128  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

a  large  number  for  a  German  paper  of  that  time.  A  second  and 
improved  edition  appeared  in  1737,  and  in  this  Hagedorn  was 
destined  to  win  his  literary  spurs.  Of  the  older  moral  weeklies,  Mil- 
berg1  notes  that  this  was  the  only  one  which  took  music  into  con- 
sideration.2 

In  the  introduction  to  the  third  Jahrgang  of  Der  Patriot  it  is 
stated  that  there  was  a  Verein  of  men  in  Hamburg  called  "Die 
patriotische  Gesellschaft,"  in  which  the  material  for  each  number 
was  prepared  for  publication.  This  weekly  had  more  than  one 
hundred  imitators  during  the  century,  most  of  these  being  published 
in  Hamburg. 

It  was  in  Der  Bewunderer,  published  in  Hamburg  by  B.  J.  Zink, 
that  Hagedorn's  translation  of  Pope's  Universal  Prayer  made  its 
first  appearance,  but  of  this  more  will  be  said  later.  The  fact 
that  Zink  was  a  tutor  in  Brockes'  family  during  the  time  when  the 
latter  was  translating  Pope's  Essay  on  Man  and  that  he  wrote  an 
extensive  introduction  for  it  may  explain  the  frequent  references  to 
English  literature  in  his  journal. 

THE  INFLUENCE  OF  HAGEDORN'S  STAY  IN  LONDON  UPON  HIM 

Up  to  this  point  we  have  had  to  do  with  Hagedorn's  life,  his 
literary  predecessors  and  contemporaries,  and  his  native  city,  con- 
cerning ourselves  in  each  case  especially  with  his  English  relations; 
the  remainder  of  this  section  will  be  devoted  to  the  general  effect 
which  Hagedorn's  two  years'  stay  in  London  had  upon  him. 

By  studying  the  social  life  of  England  and  Germany  as  revealed 
in  the  moral  weeklies,  one  can  readily  understand  that  the  conditions 
which  Hagedorn  found  on  arriving  in  England  were  very  different 
from  those  which  he  had  left  in  Germany.  Instead  of  the  des- 
potism of  small  rulers  in  a  country  composed  of  isolated  sections, 
he  found  that  freedom  for  which  he  had  longed,  and  with  it  a  far 
more  cheerful  atmosphere  than  existed  in  Germany.  The  slavish 
attitude  with  which  the  Germans  regarded  their  rulers  was  reflected  in 
the  literature  of  the  time.     The  Germans  had  lost  confidence  in 

1  Ernst  Milberg,  Die  deutschen  moralischen  Wochenschriften  des  18.  Jhs.  (Diss., 
Leipzig,  Meissen,  n.d.),  P-  56. 

2  Probably  this  was  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  Hamburg  had  received  a  special 
impetus  for  the  fostering  of  better  music  through  the  inspiration  of  Handel. 

320 


Influence  of  English  on  von  Hagedorn  129 

themselves  and  needed  to  catch  the  spirit  of  sturdy  self-reliance 
and  optimism  which  was  characteristic  of  the  English.  When  one 
considers  Hagedorn's  love  of  freedom  and  happiness,  he  is  not  sur- 
prised that  the  poet  was  encouraged  by  what  he  observed  and  experi- 
enced in  England  to  express  what  he  felt.  On  September  19,  1748, 
he  wrote  to  Bodmer:1  "Dass  meine  Neigung  zu  den  Engellandern, 
bey  welchen  ich  mich  zwey  Jahre  in  London  aufgehalten,  die  einzigen 
Jahre,  die  ich  wieder  zu  erteben  wunschte,  und  die  Liebe  zur  Frey- 
heit,  welche  mir  mehr  angebohren,  als  eingeflosst  worden." 

Again,  in  1752,  but  two  years  before  his  death,  in  a  letter  to 
Bodmer,2  Hagedorn  voiced  his  longing  for  England:  "Haben 
sollen  sie  den  Milton,  wenn  ich  auch  selbst  ihn  aus  London  abholen 
sollte.  Wie  wtinsche  ich,  noch  einmal  das  gliickselige  Engelland 
betreten  zu  konnen!" 

Although  there  are  published  but  few  of  Hagedorn's  letters  in 
which  he  referred  to  the  effect  of  English  life  upon  him,  in  those  in 
which  he  does  refer  to  it  his  enthusiasm  is  unmistakable.  In  a 
letter  written  to  his  brother  while  he  was  in  London,  dated  September 
8,  1730,3  he  called  attention  to  the  inferiority  of  certain  prominent 
Germans  in  comparison  with  the  English. 

It  is  important  to  emphasize  at  this  point  the  influence  of  English 
life  upon  Hagedorn  for  the  reason  that  it  was  only  after  he  had 
been  in  England  and  caught  the  inspiration  which  came  to  him  from 
actual  contact  with  English  people  that  the  influence  of  English 
literature  is  shown  to  any  extent  in  his  poetry.  It  is  significant 
that  its  influence  is  very  slight  in  the  edition  of  his  works  which 
appeared  in  1729,  just  before  he  went  to  England,  and  very  evident 
in  his  poetry  of  the  next  few  years.  Although  acknowledging 
indebtedness  in  this  early  edition  to  Horace,  Virgil,  Ennius,  Lucan, 
Konig,  Wernicke,  Giinther,  and  Corneille,  he  referred  in  no  instance 
to  an  English  poet.  However,  there  is  no  doubt  he  was  early  familiar 
with  contemporary  English  literature,  as  has  been  shown  by  his 
interest  in  the  German  and  English  moral  weeklies.     It  is  possible 

1  Ungedruckte  Brief e  in  Zurich;    cf.  Hermann  Schuster,   Friedrich  von  Hagedorn  u. 
seine  Bedeutung  filr  die  deutsche  Literatur  (Leipzig,  1882),  p.  13. 
,   *  Schuster,  op.  cit.,  p.  13. 

*  Werke,  V,  21.  Referring  to  "der  gedachtnissgelehrte  Kohl,"  he  remarked,  "Hier 
In  London  wiirde  er  und  viele  hamburgische  grosse  Lichter  eine  armselige  Figur  machen." 

321 


130  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

that  he  had  not  enough  confidence  in  himself  at  that  time  to  advo- 
cate ideas  of  freedom,  friendship,  philanthropy,  and  virtue,  which 
would  have  been  considered  revolutionary  in  Germany.  It  is  futile 
to  speculate  about  it,  but  the  fact  remains  that  the  influence  of 
English  poetry  in  Hagedorn's  writings  is  but  slight  until  after  his 
visit  to  England. 

It  is  as  a  writer  of  didactic  and  satirical  poetry  that  Hagedorn 
shows  the  greatest  promise  in  his  early  edition.  Here  and  there  are 
evidences  of  that  graceful,  gay  movement,  which  later  characterized 
his  lyrics.  This  contrasts  delightfully  with  the  heavy-footed, 
wearisome  style  of  his  predecessors.  There  is  at  least  visible  here  an 
attempt  at  progress  in  the  manner  of  treatment.  But  there  is  not 
a  single  trace  in  this  edition  of  Hagedorn  as  a  charming  story-teller, 
in  which  role  he  very  frequently  appears  after  his  English  sojourn. 
In  only  a  few  stanzas  does  he  show  his  ability  to  write  light,  melodi- 
ous songs.  That  love  of  freedom,  friendship,  and  a  cheerful  type 
of  virtue  which  is  found  in  his  later  poems  is  almost  entirely  lacking 
here.  Before  he  could  give  adequate  expression  to  those  ideas  which 
meant  most  to  him,  he  seemed  to  need  to  come  into  contact  with 
English  people. 

It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  our  poet,  under  these  circumstances, 
found  himself  in  a  very  congenial  atmosphere.  The  elegance  of 
language,-  epigrammatic  expression,  wit,  clearness  and  smoothness 
of  style  of  the  contemporary  English  writers  made  a  strong  appeal 
to  him.  We  cannot  but  regret  that  the  records  concerning  his  stay 
in  London  are  so  incomplete,  for  such  a  genial  person  as  he  must 
have  enjoyed  greatly  the  social  life  in  England  at  that  time,  and 
his  account  of  his  social  relations  with  literary  men  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact  there  would  probably  furnish  us  with  valuable 
material  for  our  study.  Among  the  English  writers  who  were  in 
London  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  during  his  stay  there,  ,nd  whom 
he  may  have  met,  were  Pope,  Thomson,  Young,  Richardson,  Gay, 
and  Mallet. 
■  The  wide  scope  of  Hagedorn's  reading  of  English  literature, 

Jt/f-  /  as  indicated  by  the  list  in  the  appendix  to  this  study,  appears  the 
more  remarkable  when  we  consider  the  difficulties  encountered  at 
that  time  in  getting  access  to  foreign  books.     Contemporary  German 

322 


Influence  of  English  on  von  Hagedorn  131 

writers  constantly  refer  to  this  fact  in  connection  with  their  reading. 
Under  these  circumstances,  Hagedorn's  generosity  in  lending  books1 
was  especially  appreciated,  for  he  brought  into  touch  with  English 
many  German  writers  who,  under  Hagedorn's  inspiration,  became 
translators,  editors,  and  imitators,  thus  helping  to  disseminate 
English  ideas  throughout  Germany. 

The  list  of  books  which  Hagedorn  read  indicates  that  he  pre- 
ferred in  general  the  writers  who  followed  classic  ideals.  It  shows, 
too,  that  he  was  open  to  new  impressions,  and  that  he  was  a  man  of 
wide  interests.  As  we  follow  up  the  lines  of  thought  suggested  by 
these  names,  it  will  be  interesting  to  see  what  writers  influenced  him 
most. 

In  this  introduction  I  have  attempted  to  show  only  in  a  general 
way  the  impression  which  English  life  and  literature  made  upon 
Hagedorn;  in  the  following  sections  I  shall  indicate  in  detail  how 
this  influence  is  observable  in  each  of  the  four  types  in  which  he 
wrote.  These  types  will  be  considered  in  the  same  order  as  they 
were  arranged  by  him  for  the  first  complete  edition  of  his  works, 
which  appeared  after  his  death  in  1757:  Moralische  Gedichte,  Epi- 
grammatische  Gedichte,  Fabeln  und  Erzdhlungen,  and  Oden  und 
Lieder.2 

MORALISCHE   GEDICHTE 

In  the  previous  chapter  it  was  stated  that  Hagedorn  showed  in 
his  collection  of  poems  published  in  1729  more  promise  as  a  writer 
of  didactic  and  satirical  poetry  than  of  any  other  types  which  he 
employed.  These  poems  were  embodied  in  the  Moralische  Ge- 
dichte, which  were  first  published  as  a  whole  in  1750,  this  edition 
appearing  at  Hamburg,  as  well  as  a  second  and  enlarged  edition, 
which  came  out  in  1753.  Before  these  poems  were  published  together, 
most  of  them  had  appeared  separately  in  quarto,  as  was  the  case  with 
many  English  poems  of  that  period;  some  had  been  printed  several 
times. 

Although  this  kind  of  writing  is  nowadays  considered  tiresome, 
at  the  time  when  the  Spectator  represented  the  highest  type  of  cul- 

1  A  sentence  from  a  letter  of  Bodmer's  of  January  27,  1751,  amply  shoys  Hagedorn's 
generosity  in  this  respect  (Werke,  V,  211  ft*.):  "Ich  habe  die  vortrefflichen  Essays  des 
Hume  empfangen;  ich  muss  Sie  aber  mit  Ernst  bitten,  dass  Sie  Ihrer  Freigebigkeit  ein 
Ziel  stecken,  weil  ich  nicht  im  Stande  bin,  selbige,  wie  ich  sollte,  zu  erwiedern." 

2  The  present  study  includes  only  the  Moralische  Gedichte. 

323 


180  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

ein  Muster  der  besten  Nacheiferung,  und  bekraftigt  uns  eine  Wahrheit,  die 
ich  ftir  jetzt  so  verdeutschen  mochte: 

Wer  nimmer  sagen  will,  was  man  zuvorgesagt, 

Der  wagt,  dies  ist  sein  Loos,  was  niemand  nach  ihm  wagt.1 

Thus,  in  order  to  do  justice  to  Hagedorn  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
constantly  in  mind  his  idea  of  making  his  imitations  not  merely 
verbal,  but  "meisterhafte,  freye  Originale,"  as  he  called  Pope's. 
This  is  fundamental  for  our  purpose,  not  only  in  the  consideration  of 
his  Moralische  Gedichte,  but  of  his  other  works  as  well. 

hagedorn's  language  and  meter 

The  form  which  Hagedorn  chose  for  the  Moralisches  Gedicht, 
an  outgrowth  of  the  moral  essays,  is  an  innovation  in  German  litera- 
ture; for  the  German  moralists  preceding  him  had  employed  prose 
as  their  medium.  It  is  significant,  not  only  that  Hagedorn  employed 
verse,  but  also  that  he  used  in  three  of  his  moral  poems  the  iambic 
pentameter,  the  form  in  which  the  Essay  on  Man  was  written. 
In  one  of  these  poems,  Horaz  (1751),  he  uses  the  heroic  couplet 
throughout,  while  in  the  other  two,  Der  Gelehrte  (1740)  and  Der 
Weise  (1741),  he  employs  it  at  the  close  of  each  stanza.2  In  his  use 
of  the  heroic  couplet,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  he  is 
an  innovator,  borrowing  from  English  literature  and  incorporating 
into  that  of  his  own  country  a  form  which  has  since  been  popularly 
employed  there  to  the  present  day. 

Five  of  the  Moralische  Gedichte  are  written  in  iambic  hexameter, 
Wilnsche  aus  einem  Schreiben  an  einen  Freund  (1745),3  Die  Gluck- 
seligkeit  (1743),  Der  Schweitzer,  nach  dem  Horaz  (1744),  Schreiben  an 
einen  Freund  (1747),  and  Die  Freundschaft  (1748),  the  last  four  being 
in  couplets.  The  iambic  tetrameter  is  employed  for  the  poem  Uber 
Eigenschaften  Gottes  (1744),  and  for  the  Allgemeines  Gebet  nach  Pope 

i  "It  is  generally  the  fate  of  such  people,  who  will  never  say  what  has  been  said 
before,  to  say  what  will  never  be  said  after  them." — Observations  on  Homer. 

2  In  passing,  I  may  add  that  three  of  Hagedorn's  Epigrammatische  Gedichte  are 
written  in  the  heroic  couplet,  An  einen  Mahler,  An  Murzuphlus,  and  Wohlthaten,  while  a 

ourth,  Rath,  is  in  the  iambic  pentameter. 

3  In  assigning  the  date  1745  to  the  poem,  Wilnsche,  aus  einem  Schreiben  an  einen 
Freund,  vom  Jahre  1733,  I  am  following  the  chronological  arrangement  of  Eschenburg 
(Hagedorn's  Wer  he,  IV,  75),  who  states  that  the  poem  first  appeared  in  the  sixth  volume 
of  the  Poesie  der  Niedersachsen  (1738)  and  was  published  in  an  enlarged  and  improved 
form  in  1745.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  reason  Frick  (op.  cit.,  p.  2)  has  for 
dating  the  poem  1743. 

504 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      181 

(1742)  the  eight-foot  trochaic  verse,  which  Brockes  and  Triller  had 
helped  to  popularize. 

An  illustration  of  Hagedorn's  desire  to  give  a  free  rendering 
of  his  original  may  be  noted  in  this  translation  from  Pope.  Strictly 
speaking,  it  is  not  a  translation,  but  an  adaptation  of  Pope's  poem, 
for  the  use  of  the  long  verse  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  introduce 
some  material  which  is  not  in  the  original.  To  illustrate  his  free- 
dom in  this  translation,  it  will  suffice  to  quote  a  single  stanza  (I,  1) : 

Herr  und  Vater  aller  Wesen,  aller  Himmel,  aller  Welten, 

Aller  Zeiten,  aller  Volker!    Ewiger!    Herr  Zebaoth! 

Die  Verehrung  schwacher  Menschen  kann  dein  Wohlthun  nicht  vergelten, 

Gott,  dem  alle  Gotter  weichen!    Unaussprechlich  grosser  Gott!1 

The  purity  and  beauty  of  the  language  which  Hagedorn  uses  here 
should  be  praised,  but  for  the  epigrammatic  quality  of  Pope's  verse, 
which  Hagedorn  learned  to  imitate,  we  must  turn  to  other  poems, 
for  instance  to  Die  Gliickseligkeit,  his  next  poem. 

Anyone  who  is  familiar  with  Pope's  didactic  writing  will  not 
long  doubt  the  source  of  such  epigrams  as  the  following: 

"Es  ist  das  wahre  Gliick  an  keinen  Stand  gebunden." — Werke,  I,  19. 

"Ein  Kaiser  konnte  Sklav,  ein  Sklave  Kaiser  seyn."2 — Ibid.,  I,  19. 

"Der  Reichthum,  der  vertheilt  so  vielen  Niitzen  wiirde, 
Und  aufgethurmtes  Gold,  sind  eine  todte  Burde." — Ibid.,  I,  29. 

"Was  ist  die  Weisheit  denn,  die  wenigen  gemein? 
Sie  ist  die  Wissenschaft,  in  sich  begliickt  zu  seyn. 
Was  aber  ist  das  Gliick  ?    Was  alle  Thoren  meiden: 
Der  Zustand  wahrer  Lust  und  dauerhafter  Freuden." — Ibid.,  I,  20  f. 

"Der  Arbeit  siisser  Lohn,  die  so  viel  Gutes  schafft, 
Der  Schlaf,  des  Todes  Bild,  und  doch  des  Lebens  Kraft." — Ibid.,  I,  33. 

"Nur  Tugend,  die  allein  die  Seelen  mehrhaft  macht, 
Wird  durch  Gefahr  und  Noth  nie  um  den  Sieg  gebracht." — Ibid.,  I,  33. 

"Die  Weisheit  wahlet  oft,  um  diesen  nachzugehen, 
Den  niedern  Aufenthalt,  und  nicht  umwolkte  Hohen." — Ibid.,  I,  34. 

i  Father  of  all!  in  every  age, 
In  every  clime  ador'd, 
By  Saint,  by  Savage,  and  by  Sage, 
Jehovah,  Jove,  or  Lord! 
Hagedorn  had  the  original  printed  with  his  translation  of  the  poem. 
2  The  element  of  antithesis  marked  here  will  be  recalled  as  characteristic  of  Pope's 
style. 

505 


182  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

It  will  not  be  difficult,  in  view  of  Hagedorn's  use  of  the  above 
epigrams,  to  convince  anyone  conversant  with  German  literature  of 
Hagedorn's  period  that  he  introduced  into  it  a  new  element.  It  is 
a  far  cry  from  the  diffuse  form  of  expression  used  by  the  leading 
German  writers  of  the  time  to  the  concise  language  quoted  above. 
One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  this  diffuseness  is  Brockes' 
translation  of  the  Essay  on  Man.1  Yet  he  too  was  deeply  interested 
in  English  literature  and  enthusiastic  in  his  admiration  of  Pope. 
But  Hagedorn  was  the  first  German  writer  who  was  able  to  reject  the 
lumbering  diffuseness  of  contemporary  German  literature  and  to 
imitate  successfully  Pope's  compactness  of  style.2  The  service  thus 
rendered  to  German  poetry  by  Hagedorn  in  introducing  this  new 
manner  of  writing  has  not  been  given  sufficient  emphasis  by  students 
of  German-English  relations  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Later  we  find  the  epigrammatic  quality  very  marked  in  Die 
Freundschaft.    The  following  are  typical: 

"Die  wahre  Freundschaft  ist  die  Tugend  Meistertuck." — Werke,  I,  70. 

"Die  echte  Zartlichkeit,  die  immer  Lust  und  Schmerz 
Mit  andern  willig  theilt,  kommt  in  kein  schlechtes  Herz, 
Und  Helden,  welche  mir  vor  tausend  Siegern  preisen, 
Sind  Helden,  die  sich  auch,  als  Freunde,  gross  erweisen." 

—Ibid.,  I,  71. 

"Das  susse  Vorurtheil,  das  holder  Umgang  giebt, 
Macht,  dass  man  nie  zu  sehr  gepriifte  Freunde  liebt. 
Ein  Freund  wird  voller  Glimpf  des  Freundes  Fehler  tragen, 
Nur  Frost  und  Falschheit  nicht,  den  Grund  befugter  Klagen." 

— Ibid.,  I,  76. 

Hagedorn's  development  in  conciseness  of  style  is  observed  by 
comparing  his  Shriftmdssige  Betrachtungen  ilber  einige  Eigenschaften 
Gottes  with  his  rendering  of  Pope's  Universal  Prayer,  written  but 
two  years  earlier.  In  this  poem  he  uses  the  iambic  tetrameter  with 
the  compact  end-stopped  line  prevailing.  It  imitates  the  style  of 
the  Universal  Prayer  far  more  closely  than  does  Hagedorn's  transla- 
tion of  that  poem. 

1  His  translation  appeared  in  1740. 

2  By  comparing  Hagedorn's  poems  written  after  his  sojourn  in  England  with  those 
written  before  it  becomes  evident  that  this  conciseness  which  he  developed  comes  largely 
from  English  literature. 

506 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      183 

The  fact  that  he  did  not  employ  the  heroic  couplet  throughout 
a  long  moral  poem1  until  1751  when  he  composed  his  Horaz2  indi- 
cates further  that  the  influence  of  the  verse  form  of  Pope  and  his 
school  upon  that  of  our  poet  gradually  increased.3 

In  this  poem  Hagedorn  attains  a  uniformly  concise  style,  which 
surpasses  that  in  his  earlier  moral  writing,  and  which  most  nearly 
approaches  Pope's  conciseness.  This  can  be  seen  best  in  such  a 
stanza  as  the  following: 

Horaz,  mein  Freund,  mein  Lehrer,  mein  Begleiter, 

Wir  gehn  aufs  Land.     Die  Tage  sind  schon  heiter; 

So  wie  anjetzt  die  Furcht  der  blinden  Nacht 

Ein  heller  Mond  uns  minder  nachtlich  macht, 

Es  herrscht  das  Licht,  und  alle  Liifte  geben 

Der  frohen  Welt  das  eigentliche  Leben. 

Die  rechte  Lust  kommt  mit  der  Frtihlingszeit. 

Natur  und  Mensch  sind  voll  Gefalligkeit. 

Ihr  unerkauften,  unerfochtnen  Freuden! 

Sucht  keine  Pracht:  die  Pracht  muss  euch  beneiden. 

Des  Daseyns  Trost,  das  Recht  vergmigt  zu  seyn, 

Der  Kenner  Gliick  macht  Lenz  und  Witz  gemein.4 

In  the  foregoing  it  will  be  noted  that  each  of  five  successive 
verses  contains  a  complete  sentence.  A  comparison  of  this  passage 
with  almost  any  of  equal  length  from  Hagedorn's  contemporary, 
Bodmer,  makes  clear  to  the  reader  that  a  new  influence — one  for 
epigrammatic  conciseness — was  at  work  in  German  literature. 

When  we  recall  how  few  modern  Germans  write  in  a  clear, 
concise  style,  the  achievement  of  Hagedorn  seems  all  the  greater,  for 
he  had  to  break  with  both  his  predecessors  and  his  contemporaries. 
And  whenever  Germany  does  give  Hagedorn  his  just  reward,  it 
should  not  forget  the  English  writers  whom  he  never  tired  of  reading 
and  imitating. 

»  See  above,  p.  180. 

2  The  use  of  the  heroic  couplet  at  the  close  of  each  stanza  in  both  Der  Gelehrte  and 
Der  Weise,  several  years  before  Horaz,  was  a  step  in  that  direction. 

s  Evidently  Frick  (op.  cit.,  p.  2)  was  not  taking  into  consideration  the  form  of  Pope's 
verse  when  he  stated  that  the  influence  of  the  latter  upon  Hagedorn  began  to  wane  after 
the  publication  of  Gliickseligkeit. 

*  Werke,  I,  97. 

507 


UWV£^Ty) 


184  *  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

hagedorn's  philosophy  of  happiness 
In  the  very  first  lines  of  the  poem,  Wiinsche  aus  einem  Schreiben  an 
einen  Freund,  is  expressed  the  essence  of  Hagedorn's  philosophic 
thought,  the  essence  of  Deism  as  well: 

Um  diese  Pilgerschaft  vergniiglich  zu  vollenden, 
Die  mich  von  der  Geburt  bis  zur  Verwesung  bringt, 
Darf  Ehre,  Schein  und  Wahn  nie  meine  Seele  blenden, 
Die  nicht  mit  Traumen  spielt,  und  nach  dem  Wesen  ringt.1 

This  is  the  fundamental  thought  of  this  poem  and  of  all  Hagedorn's 
didactic  writing.  The  important  thing  with  him  is  the  soul,  which 
should  not  be  blinded  by  any  outside  influences  that  might  keep  it 
from  attaining  its  perfection.  It  is  the  same  philosophy  which  Pope 
expressed  in  the  Fourth  Epistle  of  the  Essay  on  Man,  and  it  is  the 
underlying  thought  in  all  his  didactic  poetry.  In  this  connection 
take  the  following  lines  from  the  Essay  on  Man:2 

What  nothing  earthly  gives,  or  can  destroy, 
The  soul's  calm  sunshine,  and  the  heart-felt  joy, 
Is  virtue's  prize. 

and  again  11.  79-80: 

Reason's  whole  pleasure,  all  the  joys  of  sense, 

Lie  in  three  words,  Health,  Peace,  and  Competence. 

The  following  lines  from  Hagedorn's  Wiinsche*  may  have  been 
suggested  to  him  by  the  lines  quoted  above: 

Es  sey  mein  Ueberfluss,  nicht  vieles  zu  verlangen; 
Mein  Ruhm,  mein  liebster  Ruhm,  Vernunft  und  Billigkeit: 
Soil  ich  ein  Mehres  noch,  bald  oder  spat  empfangen, 
So  steh  ein  Theil  davon  zu  andrer  Dienst  bereit. 

Pope  made  moderation  the  theme  of  the  entire  Third  Epistle  of 
his  Moral  Essays;  it  is  significant  that  Hagedorn  emphasized  the 
same  thought  throughout  his  work.4 

The  second  stanza  of  Wiinsche  is  packed  with  ideas  which  were 
for  him  fundamental  in  all  his  writing  (I,  38) : 

i  Werke,  I,  37.  *  Ep.  IV,  11.  167-69.  3  Werke,  I,  37. 

*  The  following  couplet  from  Gliickseligkeit  was  cited  as  having  the  epigrammatic 
quality  of  Pope's.     It  will  be  noted  that  the  theme  also  is  his  (I,  29) : 

Der  Reichtum,  der  vertheilt  so  vielen  Niitzen  wiirde, 
Und  aufgethurmtes  Gold,  sind  eine  todte  Btirde. 

508 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      185 

Die  Gegend  reizt  mich  noch,  wo  bey  den  hellen  Bachen 
Und  in  dem  griinen  Hain  sich  Ruh  und  Freyheit  herzt. 
Dort  konnt'  ich  mir  selbst  vertraulich  mich  besprechen, 
Wo  keine  Falschheit  lacht,  und  keine  Grobheit  scherzt. 
Dort  lebt  ich  unerreicht  von  Vorwitz  und  von  Sorgen; 
Durch  keinen  Zwang  gekrummt,  durch  keinen  Neid  beriickt, 
Der  stillen  Wahrheit  treu,  der  Welt,  nicht  mir,  verborgen, 
Und,  Lust  der  Einsamkeit!  genug  durch  dich  begluckt. 

The  love  of  country,  freedom,  truth,  meditation,  and  solitude  are 
here  contrasted  with  hatred  of  falsehood,  rudeness,  inquisitiveness, 
wrong,  constraint,  and  envy.  The  ideas  expressed  in  the  stanza  just 
quoted  are  the  same  as  those  which  Thomson  emphasizes  all  through  /  i, 
the  Seasons,  which  may  well  have  been  a  source  of  Wiinsche.  To 
illustrate  I  quote  Autumn,  11.  1235-49 : 

Oh!    knew  he  but  his  happiness,  of  men 

The  happiest  he,  who,  far  from  public  rage, 

Deep  in  the  vale,  with  a  choice  few  retired, 

Drinks  the  pure  pleasures  of  the  rural  life. 

What  though  the  dome  be  wanting,  whose  proud  gate, 

Each  morning  vomits  out  the  sneaking  crowd 

Of  flatterers  false,  and  in  their  turn  abused  ? 

Vile  intercourse!    What  though  the  glittering  robe 

Of  every  hue  reflected  light  can  give, 

Or  floating  loose,  or  stiff  with  massy  gold, 

The  pride  and  gaze  of  fools,  oppress  him  not  ? 

What  though,  from  utmost  land  and  sea  purveyed, 

For  him  each  rarer  tributary  life 

Bleeds  not,  and  his  insatiate  table  heaps 

With  luxury  and  death  ? 

It  is  at  least  an  interesting  coincidence  that  Thomson,  in  the 
passage  quoted,  has  included  practically  every  idea  found  in  Hage- 
dorn's  Wiinsche:  the  same  love  of  country  life  with  its  quiet,  innocent 
pleasures,  moderation,  health,  friendship,  and  leisure  for  meditation, 
and  its  freedom  from  treachery,  flattery,  falsehood,  pride,  inquisi- 
tiveness, and  ostentation.     Note  also  11.  1273-77: 

Here  too  dwells  simple  truth,  plain  innocence, 
Unsullied  beauty,  sound  unbroken  youth, 
Patient  of  labour,  with  a  little  pleased, 
Health  ever-blooming,  unambitious  toil, 
Calm  contemplation,  and  poetic  ease. 

509 


186  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  up  to  the  present  no  one  seems  to 
have  considered  Hagedorn  in  connection  with  Thomson,  yet  it  is 
universally  admitted  that  the  influence  of  the  latter  upon  Hagedorn's 
contemporaries  was  very  great.  It  suffices  to  mention  Brockes' 
Irdisches  Vergnilgen  in  Gott,1  Haller's  Die  Alpen  (1732),  Kleist's 
Friihling  (1749),  Wieland's  Friihling  (1752),  and  Zacharia's  To- 
geszeiten  (1755)  in  this  connection.  That  Hagedorn  knew  Thomson 
is  proved  by  letters  from  Bodmer  and  Ebert  referring  to  him.2 
Then,  since  Hagedorn  was  a  voluminous  reader  of  English  as  well  as 
of  German  books,  there  is  every  probability  that  he  knew  Thom- 
son's works  soon  after  they  appeared.  The  promptness  with  which 
Hagedorn  read  English  books  is  easily  seen  by  comparing  his  notes 
upon  them  with  the  dates  of  publications  in  any  bibliographical 
manual.  And  since  both  Bodmer  and  Ebert  conceded  to  Hagedorn 
the  leadership  in  matters  of  English,  the  fact  that  they  had  read 
Thomson  makes  it  very  probable  that  Hagedorn  also  had  read  him.3 
Furthermore,  since  he  had  read  many  English  authors  who  are 
known  to  us  only  by  name,  and  who  at  the  time  were  probably  not 
read  by  many  English  people,  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  he 
would  have  failed  to  read  an  English  author  who  was  as  well  known 
in  Germany  as  Thomson.  Hagedorn's  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Brockes  during  the  years  in  which  the  latter  was  especially 
influenced  by  Thomson4  also  points  to  Hagedorn's  acquaintance 
with  the  English  poet.  Moreover,  the  similarity  in  interests  would 
naturally  have  drawn  Hagedorn  to  Thomson,  since  both  turned  to 
Horace  for  inspiration. 

Though  Hagedorn's  idea  of  happiness  is  revealed  in  his  Wilnsche, 
it  is  expressed  even  more  in  detail  in  his  poem,  Die  Glilckseligkeit. 
Like  the  Fourth  Epistle  of  the  Essay  on  Man,  this  poem  emphasizes 

» Although  Brockes  commenced  this  work  as  early  as  1721,  it  was  not  completed 
until  after  he  knew  Thomson's  Seasons,  which  was  completed  by  1730. 

2  Bodmer  in  Hagedorn's  Werke,  V,  172;  Ebert,  ibid.,  V,  259,  262,  266. 

3  Hagedorn's  generosity  in  sending  English  books  to  his  friends  has  been  mentioned 
previously.  Despite  the  fact  that  one  finds  very  few  instances  of  Bodmer's  sending  a 
book  to  Hagedorn,  the  following  indicates  an  established  custom  of  Hagedorn's  of  for- 
warding books  to  his  friend:  "Die  trefflichen  Biicher,  womit  Sie  Ihrer  Gewohnheit 
nach,  Ihren  Brief  begleitet  haben,  erhielten  mich  den  ganzen  Sommer  durch  aufgeraumt, 
und  werden  mir  auch  den  Winter  angenehm  machen"  (Hagedorn's  Werke,  V,  207, 
September  10,  1748). 

*  Brockes'  translation  of  The  Seasons  appeared  in  1744. 

510 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      187 

that  anyone  can  find  true  happiness  and  that  it  is  attained  through 
contentment,  peace  of  mind,  moderation,  and  a  sufficient  competence, 
not  through  riches,  learning,  fame,  or  power.  Hagedorn  insists 
that  only  the  wise  can  be  happy,  while  Pope  urges  that  only  the 
virtuous  can  be  happy,  but  with  the  two  poets  these  ideas  are  almost 
identical. 

The  chief  idea  which  Gliickseligkeit  has  in  common  with  Pope's 
Third  Epistle  of  the  Moral  Essays  is  that  wealth  brings  happiness, 
not  to  the  spendthrift  or  miser,1  but  only  to  the  one  who  disperses 
it  by  giving  or  spending  it  wisely.  And  the  Fourth  Epistle  of  the 
Moral  Essays  furnished  Hagedorn  with  the  following  ideas:  Much 
wealth  is  wasted  in  laying  out  and  adorning  gardens,  and  in  building 
and  furnishing  houses,  by  people  who  lack  taste  and  culture.  The 
only  redeeming  feature  about  this  expense  is  that  artists  are  bene- 
fited by  the  patronage  which  it  gives  them.  Briefly,  in  imitating 
Pope,  Hagedorn  introduced  the  views  of  the  former  concerning 
human  happiness  into  Germany  and  thus  assisted  in  spreading  there 
the  philosophy  of  the  English  Deists. 

In  addition  to  the  debt  which  in  Gluckseligkeit  he  owes  to  Pope's 
Essay  on  Man  and  the  Moral  Essays,  which  has  already  been  pointed 
out  by  Frick,2  its  negative  features  show  some  significant  parallelism 
with  Prior's  Solomon  on  the  Vanity  of  the  World.  Both  poets  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  learning,  pleasure,  and  power  in  themselves 
fail  to  bring  true  happiness. 

That  Hagedorn  knew  Prior  is  shown  by  his  numerous  translations 
of  the  latter's  epigrams  and  tales,  which  he  made  soon  after  returning 
from  England.  Although  Wukadinovic3  devotes  considerable  atten- 
tion to  Hagedorn,  he  overlooks  him  entirely  in  his  discussion  of  the 
influence  which  Prior's  Solomon  had  in  Germany.  In  his  study 
Wukadinovic  adequately  treats  of  translations  and  verbal  imitations 
of  Prior  in  Germany;  but  in  the  case  of  Prior's  influence  on  Hage- 
dorn it  is  inadequate,  according  to  Hagedorn's  own  standard,  to 

1  His  representation  of  the  miser  and  the  spendthrift  in  contrast  with  each  other  and 
his  expression  concerning  the  futility  of  both  has  its  parallel  also  in  ParneU's  Hermit. 
Further,  in  connection  with  Hagedorn's  characterization  of  the  miser,  in  a  footnote  to  I, 
23  flf.,  he  cites  Henry  VI,  III,  ii,  3: 

And  happy  was  it  always  for  the  son, 
Whose  father  for  his  hoarding  went  to  hell. 

2  Op.  cit.,  p.  1.  »  Op.  cit.,  p.  1. 

511 


188  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

deal  merely  with  translations  and  verbal  similarities,  and  that  is  all 
Wukadinovic  attempts  to  do.  The  evidence  in  support  of  Prior's 
influence  upon  Hagedorn  in  this  poem  is  increased  by  the  fact  that 
Hagedorn  added  to  it  the  fable  of  the  Country  Mouse  and  City 
Mouse,  a  collaboration  of  Prior  and  Charles  Montagu.1 

Although  Gluckseligkeit  has  much  in  common  with  Prior's  Solo- 
mon, in  spirit  it  is  much  more  closely  related  to  Addison's  philosophy 
as  revealed  in  his  essays.     Thus  the  Spectator,  No.  15,  reads: 

True  happiness  is  of  a  retired  nature,  and  an  enemy  to  pomp  and  noise: 
....  in  short,  it  feels  everything  it  wants  within  itself,  and  receives  no 
addition  from  multitudes  of  witnesses  and  spectators.  On  the  contrary, 
false  happiness  loves  to  be  in  a  crowd,  to  draw  the  eyes  of  the  world  upon 
her.  ....  She  flourishes  in  courts,  palaces,  theatres  and  assemblies,  and 
has  no  existence  but  when  she  is  looked  upon. 

Again,  in  Spectator,  No.  243,  "On  the  Beauty  and  Loveliness  of 
Virtue,"  Addison  defines  his  attitude  toward  virtue  as  the  same  as 
that  which  has  been  attributed  to  Hagedorn: 

I  do  not  remember  to  have  read  any  discourse  written  expressly  upon  the 
beauty  and  loveliness  of  virtue,  without  considering  it  as  a  duty,  and  as  the 
means  of  making  us  happy  both  now  and  hereafter.  I  design,  therefore,  this 
speculation  as  an  essay  upon  that  subject,  in  which  I  shall  consider  virtue  no 
further  than  as  it  is  in  itself  .of  an  amiable  nature. 

It  is  significant  that  Hagedorn  proclaimed  for  the  first  time  in 
Germany,  just  as  Addison  did  in  England,  the  beauty  and  loveliness 
of  virtue  without  considering  it  as  a  duty.2  The  German  moral 
weeklies  almost  invariably  emphasized  the  idea  of  duty  in  connection 
with  virtue.  It  is  of  great  consequence  to  find  that  Hagedorn's 
attitude  toward  virtue  is  the  same  as  that  of  Addison  and  his  school; 
but  it  is  of  greater  consequence  to  observe  that  in  assuming  this 
attitude  Hagedorn  was  following  an  English  literary  fashion  of  the 
Queen  Anne  period,  and  that  he  was  popularizing  it  in  German  litera- 
ture.    Thus  Hagedorn  stood  as  an  innovator3  in  presenting  virtue  in 

1  This  was  written  in  1687  to  ridicule  Dryden's  Hind  and  Panther.  Prior  is  supposed 
to  have  written  the  greater  part  of  it. 

2  The  joy  which  Hagedorn  found  in  virtue  is  paralleled  also  in  Thomson's  Winter, 
11.  555-71. 

s  In  their  Anacreontic  poetry  Gleim  and  his  followers,  Uz,  Gotz,  and  Jacobi,  owed 
much  to  Hagedorn,  just  as  Pyra  and  Lange  were  indebted  to  Haller.  In  learning  to 
write  this  cheerful  type  of  poetry  Hagedorn  was  in  turn  indebted  to  Prior,  as  has  been 
shown  by  Wukadinovic,  op.  cit.,  pp.  25,  27,  30.  This  will  receive  further. discussion  in  a 
later  section. 

512 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      189 

a  cheerful  aspect  and  in  believing  that  every  man  could  make  of 
himself  what  he  would.1    In  this  he  was  a  forerunner  of  Goethe. 

Hagedorn  was  more  interested  in  a  faith  which  made  life  quiet 
and  happy  here  than  one  which  concerned  itself  mainly  with  the 
future.  His  Ueber  Eigenschaften  Gottes  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the 
religion  of  the  Deists.  The  first  five  pages  being  devoted  to  the 
greatness  of  God  and  the  last  two  to  his  goodness,  he  might  have 
selected  for  its  text  the  second  stanza  of  Pope's  Universal  Prayer: 

Thou  great  first  Cause,  least  understood : 
Who  all  my  sense  confin'd 
To  know  but  this,  that  Thou  art  good, 
And  that  myself  am  blind. 

The  fact  that  Pope  was  a  Catholic  and  Hagedorn  a  Protestant 
was  no  barrier  to  their  religious  sympathy.  Even  in  English  litera- 
ture the  expressions  of  religion  which  come  from  Addison  and  Pope 
are  not  unlike,  although  formally  they  represent  the  two  great 
opposing  religious  bodies.  Deism  had  the  power  of  uniting  in  a 
practical  belief  people  of  very  different  religious  organizations,  and  it 
appealed  strongly  to  Hagedorn.  He  thought  that  to  gain  the  great- 
est happiness  in  this  life  the  soul,  unblinded  by  external  things, 
must  strive  constantly  for  its  highest  development.  Then  we  can 
look  forward  to  death  as  a  quiet  sleep : 

Darf  ich  mir  noch  ein  Gluck  zum  letzten  Ziel  erlesen; 

So  stelP  im  Scheiden  sich  bey  mir  kein  Schrecken  ein: 

Und  wie  bisher  mein  Schlaf  des  Todes  Bild  gewesen; 

So  muss'  auch  einst  mein  Tod  dem  Schlummer  ahnlich  seyn!2 

This  philosophy  coincides  with  that  of  Thomson  as  expressed 
in  Winter  (11.  1039-46) : 

Virtue  alone  survives, 
Immortal,  never-failing  friend  of  man, 
His  guide  to  happiness  on  high.    And  see! 
'Tis  come,  the  glorious  morn,  the  second  birth 
Of  heaven  and  earth.    Awakening  nature  hears 

1  Cf.  Hermann  Schuster,  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn  und  seine  Bedeutung  filr  die  deutsche 
Literatur  (Leipzig,  1882),  p.  19:  "Hagedorn  war  bei  uns  der  erste,  der  die  Tugend  zum 
Werthe  der  allgemeinen  und  hochsten  Lebensschonheit  erhob  und  sie  als  das  heitere 
Gluck  darstellte,  wodurch  das  Dasein  verklart  und  jeder  der  Kiinstler  seines  Lebens 
wiirde." 

2  Wiinsche,  Werke,  I,  40. 

513 


190  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

The  new-creating  word,  and  starts  to  life 

In  every  heightened  form,  from  pain  and  death 

For  ever  free.1 

LEARNING 

Hagedorn's  poems,  Der  Gelehrte  and  Der  Weise,  present  two  con- 
trasting types,  Der  Gelehrte2  being  a  satire  on  the  scholar  who  busies 
himself  in  mere  quibbling  in  the  hope  of  attracting  attention  to 
himself,  Der  Weise,  a  eulogy  on  the  man  who  seeks  truth,  making  it 
the  basis  of  life.  The  "Gelehrter"  is  characterized3  as  a  person 
who  finds  his  greatest  happiness  in  literary  controversies,  in  which 
he  hopes  to  win  distinction.  The  "Weiser,"  on  the  other  hand,  is 
represented4  as  a  searcher  for  truth,  who  cares  nothing  for  fame  or 
the  favor  of  princes. 

According  to  Schmid,  the  " Gelehrter"  was  not  an  uncommon 
character  in  Germany  at  that  time:5  "Ich  glaube  eben  nicht,  dass 
dieses  geistreiche  Gedicht  durch  besondere  Umstande  veranlasst 
worden,  wie  einige  behaupten  wollen.  Zu  jeder  Zeile  kann  man 
Beispiele  aus  den  heutigen  Tagen  hinzu  schreiben." 

One  needs  only  recall  the  literary  controversy  between  the 
Leipzig  and  Swiss  poets  to  realize  something  of  the  literary  atmos- 
phere in  Germany  at  that  time.6  With  this  situation  in  mind,  it  is 
significant  on  turning  again  to  Der  Weise  to  note  the  impression 
which  the  English  spirit  had  made  upon  Hagedorn: 

Wie  edel  ist  die  Neigung  echter  Britten! 
Ihr  Ueberfluss  bereichert  den  Verstand. 
Der  Handlung  Frucht,  und  was  ihr  Muth  erstritten, 
Wird,  unbereut,  Verdiensten  zugewandt; 
Gunst  kront  den  Fleiss,  den  Macht  und  Freyheit  schutzen: 
Die  Reichsten  sind  des  Wissenschaften  Sttitzen. 

O  Freyheit!  dort,  nur  dort  ist  deine  Wonne, 
Der  Stadte  Schmuck,  der  Segen  jeder  Flur, 
Stark  wie  das  Meer,  erquickend  wie  die  Sonne, 
Schon  wie  das  Licht,  und  reich  wie  die  Natur.7 

1  As  a  matter  of  interest  I  note  that  this  coincides  with  Horace  also. 

2  Christian  Heinrich  Schmid,  Biographie  der  Dichter  (Leipzig,  1770),  II,  381,  called 
this  poem  "die  meisterhafte  Ironie  auf  alle  Pedantereyen  unsrer  Zunft." 

»  Werke,  I,  80.  «  Ibid.,  I,  16.  6  Schmid,  op.  cit.,  II,  381. 

6  It  should  be  mentioned  here  that  Hagedorn  kept  himself  entirely  aloof  from  this 
strife,  which  he  considered  undignified  and  futile.  See  letter  to  Weichmann  of  September 
4,  1741,  Werke,  V,  17-18. 

*  Werke,  I,  16. 

514 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      191 

It  is  significant,  also,  that  at  this  time,  when  Hagedorn's  con- 
temporaries wished  to  be  regarded  as  learned,  he  declined  to  be  called 
a  "Gelehrter."1  In  his  introduction  to  the  Moralische  Gedichte  he 
wrote: 

Sie  wissen,  dass  ich,  von  Jugend  auf,  am  Lesen  ein  grosses  Vergnugen 
gefunden  habe,  und  dieses  vermehrt  sich  bei  mir  mit  den  Jahren.  Allein,  ich 
habe  nimmer  ein  Mnemon  seyn,  noch  auf  das  Polyhistorat  Anspriiche  zu 
machen,  mich  nur  gelehrter  lesen  wollen.  Vielmehr  habe  ich  es  oft  fur 
eine  nicht  geringe  Gluckseligkeit  gehalten,  dass  es  niemals  mein  Beruf 
gewesen  ist,  noch  seyn  konnen,  ein  Gelehrter  zu  heissen,  und  wie  vieles 
mangelt  mir,  um  diesem  Namen,  und  dessen  Folgen  gewachsen  zu  seyn? 
Dafur  habe  ich  die  beruhigende  Erlaubniss,  bei  den  Spaltungen  und  Fehden 
der  Gelehrten  nichts  zu  entscheiden.  Meine  mussigen  Stunden  geniessen 
der  erwiinschten  Freyheit,  mich  in  den  Wissenschaften  nur  mit  dem  zu 
beschaftigen,  was  mir  schon,  angenehm  und  betrachtungswiirdig  ist.2 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  mentioned  that  in  the  introduction 
to  his  Moralische  Gedichte  Hagedorn  supports  his  views  on  this  sub- 
ject in  several  instances  with  quotations  from  Pope's  Essay  on 
Criticism,  his  Observations  on  Homer,  and  his  letters.  One  from 
which  Hagedorn  quotes3  is  pertinent  here:  "I  would  cut  off  my 
own  head,  if  it  had  nothing  better  than  wit  in  it,  and  tear  out  my 
own  heart,  if  it  had  no  better  dispositions  than  to  love  only  myself, 
and  laugh  at  my  neighbors."4 

Another  of  the  English  poets  who  realized  the  inadequacy  of 
mere  learning  was  Prior.  This  he  emphasized  especially  in  his 
Solomon5  where  he  states  that  the  little  knowledge  gained  only 
bewilders  the  mind.  Prior  conceives  Solomon's  logicians  as  typical 
of  those  in  the  eighteenth  century: 

Soon  their  crude  notions  with  each  other  fought, 
The  adverse  sect  denied  what  this  had  taught; 
Who  contradicted  what  the  last  maintained.6 

1  In  Henneberger's  Jahrbuch  fiir  deutsche  Literatur,  I,  92,  Karl  Schmitt  makes  an 
interesting  statement  regarding  this:  "Er  ist  wohl  der  erste  Poet  seit  Opitzens  Auf- 
treten,  der  einen  klaren  Begriff  des  Unterschieds  zwischen  einem  durchbildeten  Dichter 
und  Gelehrten  nicht  gehalten  worden,  wahrend  seine  Vorganger  nichts  mehr  beleidigt 
haben  wtirde,  als  ihnen  diese  Eigenschaft  abzusprechen." 

2  Werke,  I,  34. 

8  Pope,  Letters  to  Several  Ladies,  No.  19. 

4  It  has  already  been  mentioned  (see  above,  p.  186)  that  one  of  the  fundamental 
thoughts  in  the  Fourth  Epistle  of  the  Essay  on  Man  is  that  happiness  cannot  be  gained 
through  learning. 

s  Book  I,  11.  739-42,  also  748-53.  •  Op.  cit.,  Book  I,  11.  717-20. 

515 


192  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

The  evidence  certainly  suggests  that  this  section  of  Prior's 
poem  was  one  of  the  sources  of  Hagedorn's  Der  Gelehrte. 

Hagedorn's  scorn  for  mere  pedantry  is  further  expressed  in  his 
poem  Wiinsche:1 

Was  niitzt  Belesenheit,  was  die  Gedachtnissbtirde, 

Die  Schreib-  und  Ruhmbegier  aus  tausend  Buchern  rafft  ? 

In  the  preceding  stanza  of  this  poem  Hagedorn  expresses,  as  does 
Thomson  in  his  Winter  (11.  431  f.),  his  love  for  his  favorite  authors. 
In  these  passages  the  two  poets  describe  their  pleasure  in  reading, 
each  suggesting  a  solitary  place  where,  free  from  disturbance,  he 
may  enjoy  his  books.  Each  emphasizes,  first  the  ancient  writers, 
and  then  the  modern.  In  each  case  a  group  of  the  ancient  writers 
is  called  up  and  characterized  individually.  In  brief,  the  similarity 
of  thoughts  between  the  poets  in  these  two  selections  is  such  as 
would  readily  be  apparent  even  to  the  casual  reader. 

After  discussing  the  writers  whom  they  admire,  both  Hagedorn 
and  Thomson  state  that  learning  in  and  of  itself  is  of  little  value. 
According  to  them  it  is  only  when  it  moves  the  heart  to  the  best 
deeds  that  it  fulfils  its  highest  purpose. 

What  gives  passages  like  this  fourth  stanza2  of  Hagedorn's 
peculiar  significance  is  that  the  battle  between  head  and  heart 
which  had  been  carried  on  in  literary  circles  in  Germany  throughout 
the  seventeenth  century  was  still  being  fought  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  the  Germans  longed  to  see  a  reconciliation  brought 
about.  They  were  tired  of  mere  quibbling.  As  a  result  Hagedorn's 
suggestion  to  unite  sentiment  with  scholarship  was  most  welcome. 
It  is  interesting  for  our  purpose  that  here  in  another  of  his  important 
innovations  he  gets  his  inspiration  from  the  English. 

In  one  of  the  opening  stanzas  of  Schreiben  an  einen  Freund 
Hagedorn  again  states  that  he  does  not  wish  to  be  learned,  but  longs 
for  quiet  contentment: 

Sie  [meine  Seelel  wiinscht  sich  nicht  gelehrt,  und 

schopft  aus  nahen  Griinden 
Den  glucklichen  Geschmack,  die  Tugend  schon  zu  finden; 


Werke,  I.  39. 


2  "  Freund,  sei  mit  mir  bedacht,  die  JKenntniss  zu  vergrossern 
">este 
1,  ur 
und 

516 


Die  unsern  Neigungen  die  beste  Richtschnur  giebt; 

Sonst  wirst  du  den  Verstand,  und  nicht  das  Herz,  verbessern, 

Das  oft  den  Witz  verwirrt,  und  nur  den  Irrthum  liebt." 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      193 

Und  will  des  Daseyns  werth,  in  Trieben  nicht  gemein, 
Still  in  Zufriedenheit,  und  ohne  Knechtschaft  seyn.1 

However,  though  he  has  no  desire  to  be  a  scholar,  he  does  not  under- 
value wisdom.  To  ignorance  he  attributes  superstition,  fear,  and  a 
whole  train  of  evils: 

Stolz,  Aberglaube,  Zorn,  Bewundrung,  Geiz  und  Neid 
Sind  alles,  was  sie  sind,  nur  durch  Unwissenheit: 
Der  Strom  der  Bosheit  quillt  aus  Wahn  und  Unverstande; 
Ein  Thor  sucht  blindlings  Ruhm  in  Labyrinth  der  Schande, 

Beugt  ungescheut  das  Recht,  und  zittert  vor  Kometen.2 

The  connection  which  Hagedorn  here  observes  between  ignorance 
and  fear  had  been  previously  remarked  by  Pope  in  his  Essay  on  Man: 

Force  first  made  Conquest,  and  that  conquest,  Law; 
'Til  Superstition  taught  the  tyrant  awe.3 

In  Gliickseligkeit*  Hagedorn  expresses  his  belief  that  devotion  to 
home  and  country  are  compatible  with  love  of  scholarship: 

Doch  sind  wir,  nach  dem  Zweck  des  Schopfers  aller  WeSen, 
Nur,  um  gelehrt  zu  seyn,  zum  Daseyn  auserlesen  ? 
Hat  nicht  an  deinem  Fleiss  und  wirksamen  Verstand 
Dein  eignes  Haus  ein  Recht,  noch  mehr  dein  Vaterland  ? 

The  fact  that  "book  learning"  and  practical  efficiency  can  be 
combined  in  the  same  person  was  a  favorite  idea  with  Hagedorn. 
One  of  his  best  friends  in  Hamburg,  the  physician  Carpser,  is  called 
by  Hagedorn  the  "Eheselden  der  Deutschen."  Since  Eheselden5 
(1688-1752),  the  author  of  Anatomy  of  the  Human  Body,  was  a 
famous  English  surgeon  and  anatomist,  the  real  honors  go  to  the 
English  again. 

Hagedom's  sympathy  with  Swift  in  his  utilitarian  philosophy 
should  be  noted  here,  for  Hagedorn  in  his  expression  of  this  phi- 
losophy acknowledged  indebtedness  to  Swift: 

Nutzt  nich  der  grobe  Pflug,  die  Egge  mehr  dem  Staat, 
Als  ihm  ein  Fernglas  nutzt,  was  dir  entdecket  hat, 
Wie  von  Cassini  Schnee,  von  Huygens  weisser  Erde 
Im  f ernen  Jupiter  ein  Land  gef arbet  werde  ? 

i  Werke,  I.  41.  8  Ep.  III.  11.  245-46. 

2  Ibid.,  I,  44  fif.  «  Werke,  I,  24. 

*  Cf.  Eschenburg  in  Hagedorn's  Werke,  IV,  921  ft*. 

517 


194  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Sah  nicht  ein  Sokrates  aufs  menschliche  Geschlecht, 
Und  hatt'  er  etwa  nicht  bey  seiner  Strenge  Recht, 
Die  von  der  Wissenschaft  der  Sterne  nichts  behielte, 
Als  was  dem  Feldbau  half,  und  auf  die  Schiffahrt  zielte  ? l 

Concerning  the  philosophy  here  expressed,  Hagedorn  wrote: 

^Ich  erinnere  mich  hierbey  einer  Stelle  Swift's  in  dem  "Voyage  to  the 
Houyhnhnms,"  im  8  ten  Cap.  S.  215,  wo  Gulliver  seinem  verniinftigen 
Houyhnhnm  von  unsern  unterschiedenen  Lehrbegriffen  in  der  Naturlehre 
Nachricht  giebt:  "In  the  like  manner  when  I  used  to  explain  to  him  our 
several  Systems  of  Natural  Philosophy,  he  would  laugh  that  a  Creature 
pretending  to  Reason  should  value  itself  upon  the  Knowledge  of  other 
Peoples'  Conjectures,  and  in  things1,  where  that  Knowledge,  if  it  were  certain, 
could  be  of  no  use.  Wherein  he  agreed  entirely  with  the  sentiments  of 
Socrates,  as  Plato  delivers  them;  which  I  mention  as  the  highest  honour  I 
can  do  that  Prince  of  Philosophers.  I  have  often  since  reflected  what 
destruction  such  a  doctrine  would  make  in  the  Libraries  of  Europe,  and  how 
many  paths  to  Fame  would  be  then  shut  up  in  the  learned  world."2 

Hagedorn's  interest  in  utilitarian  philosophy  connects  him  not 
only  with  Swift,  but  also  with  practically  all  the  English  writers  of 
that  time.3  But  the  essential  thing  which  I  wish  to  stress  here  con- 
cerning Hagedorn's  attitude  toward  utilitarianism  and  scholarship  in 
general,  as  I  did  in  connection  with  his  attitude  toward  happiness 
and  virtue,  is,  not  that  he  agrees  with  individual  English  writers 
in  the  expression  of  his  ideas,  but  that  he  is  in  close  sympathy  with  a 
whole  movement  in  England  and  that  he  is  the  forerunner  of  this 
movement  in  Germany. 

LOVE   OF  FREEDOM 

In  the  lines  of  Der  Weise  beginning,  "Wie  edel  ist  die  Neigung 
echter  Britten!"4  Hagedorn  expresses,  not  only  his  enthusiastic 
admiration  for  the  English  people,  but  his  devotion  to  the  cause 
of  freedom  as  well.  Such  expressions  as  this  are  not  to  be  found 
among  Hagedorn's  predecessors  in  Germany,  for  the  poets  were  not 
free  from  the  spirit  of  servility  which  the  people  showed  toward 
their  princes.5     It  is  only  necessary  to  turn  to  Weichmann's  Poesie 

«  Werke,  I,  24  ff.  »  ibid.,  I,  25,  n.  10. 

3  A  good  illustration  of  a  work  that  would  have  made  a  strong  appeal  to  Hagedorn 
and  may  quite  possibly  have  been  read  by  him  is  Defoe's  Essay  on  Projects  (1697). 
<  Werke,  I,  16. 

6  Karl  Biedermann,  Deutschland  im  18.  Jh.  (Leipzig,  1880),  II,  14. 

518 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn      195 

des  Niedersachsen  and  note  how  large  the  proportion  is  of  occasional 
poems  in  which  the  flattery  of  princes  plays  an  important  part,  in 
order  to  realize  how  different  was  the  spirit  of  Hagedorn's  con- 
temporaries. Among  the  contributors  were  included  such  men  as 
Brockes  and  Richey,  who  were  themselves  interested  in  English 
literature,  but  it  is  significant  that  they  left  the  leadership  in  this 
movement  toward  freedom  to  Hagedorn.  That  Hagedorn  was  not 
entirely  free  from  this  style  of  writing  before  going  to  England  is 
shown  in  the  poem,  Das  frohlockende  Russland  (1729).  Not  only  is 
the  spirit  of  servility,  noticed  in  this  poem,  entirely  lacking  in  every- 
thing which  Hagedorn  wrote  after  his  stay  in  England,  where  he 
became  "ein  halber  Englander,"1  but  in  addition,  his  hostility  to 
flattery  of  princes  is  made  very  clear.  The  thought  expressed  in  the 
bold  lines  beginning,  "Wer  heisst  oft  gross?"2  is  found  repeatedly 
in  his  writings. 

The  only  other  name  deserving  mention  in  connection  with  this 
proclamation  of  liberty  of  thought  in  Germany  is  that  of  Haller; 
but  although  Haller  in  his  poetry  defends  the  cause  of  freedom,  his 
influence  for  independence  was  not  as  great  as  Hagedorn's,  because 
his  style  limited  his  popularity  almost  exclusively  to  scholars,  while 
Hagedorn's  poetry  was  readable  among  all  classes.3 

It  is  by  no  means  impossible  to  believe  that  Hagedorn  gained 
some  confidence  in  expressing  his  love  of  freedom  and  hatred  of 
servility  from  reading  Thomson,  since  the  English  poet's  writings  are 
characterized  throughout  by  the  same  spirit. 

In  a  letter  to  Hagedorn  from  Bodmer4  and  in  one  from  Ebert,5 
Thomson's  poem  Liberty  (1734-36)  is  mentioned  with  enthusiastic 
praise.     Despite  the  absence  of  reference  to  it  in  Hagedorn's  pub- 

1  Cf.  Letter  from  Hagedorn  to  Enderlein,  in  Hagedorn's  Werke,  V,  74,  December  19, 
1748. 

2  Ibid.,  I,  16: 

Wer  heisst  oft  gross  ?     Der  schnell  nach  Ehren  klettert, 
Der  Kiihnheit  hebt,  die  Hohe  schwindlicht  macht, 
Doch  wer  ist  gross  ?     Der  Ftirsten  nicht  vergottert, 
Und  edler  denkt,  als  mancher  Ftlrst  gedacht. 

•  The  influence  which  Haller  had  upon  his  contemporaries  and  successors  in  pro- 
moting the  cause  of  liberty  of  expression  would  make  an  interesting  study  by  itself. 
Hermann  Schuster  (op.  cit.)  has  made  many  interesting  suggestions  which  are  well  worth 
working  out. 

<  Werke,  V,  172,  September  6,  1744. 

5  Ibid.,  V,  259,  January  15,  1748. 

519 


196  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

lished  letters,  it  is  easy  to  believe,  in  view  of  his  love  of  liberty,  that 
he  too  read  with  enthusiasm  this  poem  of  Thomson's,  but  especially 
such  expressions  as  are  found  in  Part  V,  11.  124-56,  where  there  is  the 
same  insistence  as  in  Der  Weise  upon  an  independence  of  spirit, 
which  finds  its  highest  enjoyment,  not  in  wealth  nor  in  the  favor  of 
the  great,  but  in  the  inner  peace  and  contentment  which  comes 
from  a  life  of  virtue,  restraint,  and  companionship  with  the  greatest 
minds.  Thomson  and  Hagedorn  agree  that  a  soul  will  not  yield  to 
flattery  and  insinuating  temptation  while  it  is  independent.  Thus 
Liberty  reads : 

Unless  corruption  first  deject  the  pride, 
And  guardian  vigour  of  the  free-born  soul, 
All  crude  attempts  of  violence  are  vain.1 

Hagedorn  writes: 

Die  Schmeicheley  legt  ihre  sanften  Bande, 
Ihr  glattes  Joch,  nur  eitlen  Seelen  an. 
Unedler  Ruhm  und  unverdiente  Schande, 
0  waget  euch  an  keinen  Bidermann!2 

The  emphasis  which  Hagedorn  places  in  the  seventh  stanza  of  his 
Wilnschez  upon  maintaining  innocence,  cheerfulness,  and  health, 
and  avoiding  pride  and  delusion  is  not  unlike  that  which  Thomson4 
gives  to  the  same  characteristics : 

Nichts  wahl'  ich  ausser  dir,  als,  deiner  zu  geniessen, 
Ein  unverfalschtes  Herz,  ein  immer  heitres  Haupt, 
Wo  aus  zu  grossem  Gliick  nicht  Stolz  und  Wahn  entspriessen, 
Noch  ein  zu  grosses  Leid  mir  Muth  und  Krafte  raubt. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  mentioned  that  Prior  indicates 
the  insinuating  method  which  flattery  uses  in  trying  to  destroy 
virtue.5 

Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

University  of  Montana 

[To  be  continued] 

»  Part  II,  490-92. 

2  Der  Weise,  Werke,  I,  18. 

»  Werke,  I,  39. 

,«  Autumn,  11.  1273-77;  see  above,  p.  185. 

6  Cf.  Solomon,  I,  692-98. 

520 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  ON 
FRIEDRICH  VON  HAGEDORN 

III 

The  similarity  between  Hagedom's  attitude  toward  flattery  in         / 
court  life  and  Prior's  is  also  striking.     Compare  the  following  from 
Solomon1  with  a  quotation  from  Freundschaft:2 
"What  is  a  king?  .... 


From  the  first  blooming  of  his  ill  taught  youth, 
Nourished  in  flattery,  and  estranged  from  truth: 
At  home  surrounded  by  a  servile  crowd, 
Prompt  to  abuse,  and  in  detraction  loud. 

Hat  ihn  der  Himmel  nicht  mit  seltner  Kraft  versehn, 
So  wird  er  nur  zu  schwach  Versuchern  widerstehn. 
Der  Hoheit  Selbstbetrug  vereitelt  seine  Gute, 
Der  Schmeichler  Hinterhalt  umzingelt  sein  Gemuthe. 

The  futility  of  the  ravages  caused  by  war  is  another  subject 
which  claimed  the  attention  of  both  Hagedorn  and  Prior,  and 
Thomson  as  well,  as  can  be  seen  by  comparing  Hagedom's  stanza 
beginning,  "Als  aber  Stolz  und  Neid  den  frechen  Schwung  erhub,"3 
with  Solomon  (Book  III,  11.  303-8)  and  the  Castle  of  Indolence  (stanza 
LV).4 

Although  Hagedorn  longed  to  see  poets  independent  of  the  favor 
of  princes,  still  he  had  long  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  the 
rulers  in  Germany  should  foster  German  art.  Along  with  other 
German  poets,  he  was  disappointed  when  Frederick  the  Great 
preferred  Voltaire  to  the  writers  of  his  own  country.  In  the  poem, 
Der  Weise,  he  cites  the  example  of  the  English  people  in  appreciating 
their  own  scholars: 

Gunst  kront  den  Fleiss,  den  Macht  und  Freyheit  schutzen: 
Die  Reichsten  sind  der  Wissenschaften  Stiitzen.6 

.       i  Book  III.  11.  275-82. 

*  Werke,  I,  65.  ■  Ibid.,  I,  69. 

*  See  also  Thomson's  Britannia  (II,  56-61). 
«  Werke,  I,  16. 

75-j  11  [Modebn  Philology,  June,  1915 


12  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

He  could  have  joined  Parnell  in  his  toast  in  The  Book-Worm: 

A  health  to  poets  all  their  days, 

May  they  have  bread  as  well  as  praise.1 

Later  in  Wilnsche,2  Hagedorn  proclaims  his  allegiance  to  the 
cause  of  freedom  with  even  more  spirit  than  in  Der  Weise: 

Du  schonstes  Himmelskind!  du  Ursprung  bester  Gaben, 
Die  weder  Gold  erkauft,  noch  Herrengunst  gewahrt, 
0  Freyheit!  kann  ich  nur  dich  zur  Gefahrtin  haben, 
Gewiss,  so  wird  kein  Hof  mit  meinem  Flehn  beschwert. 

In  this  poem  Hagedorn's  scorn  of  the  favor  of  princes  has  become 
bolder  than  it  was  in  Der  Weise.  He  sees  that  the  realization 
of  happiness  and  virtue  can  come  only  through  freedom,  that  no 
man  can  attain  a  high  development  so  long  as  he  fawns  upon  his 
rulers.  The  same  spirit  is  expressed  by  Thomson  in  his  Autumn 
(11.  1239-49),  in  a  passage  already  quoted.3 
And  again  in  Wiinsche:* 

Die  Wollust  darf  ihn  nicht  aus  Bergkrystallen  tranken, 
Die  Schmeichler  kriechen  nicht  um  seinen  Speisesaal: 
Doch  Freyheit  kann  der  Kost  Kraft  und  Gedeihen  schenken, 
Und  die  fehlt  Fiirsten  oft  bey  ihren  Gottennahl. 

It  does  not  suffice  merely  to  be  independent  as  far  as  outside 
forces  are  concerned.  This  independence  must  be  in  the  nature  of 
an  inner  freedom.  Only  when  a  man  can  look  himself  squarely  in 
the  face  is  he  able  to  regard  himself  on  an  equality  with  princes : 

Wer  diess  von  Weisen  lernt,  sein  eigner  Freund  zu  werden, 
Mit  der  Versuchung  nicht  sich  heimlich  zu  verstehn; 
Der  ist  (ihr  Grossen,  glaubts)  ein  grosser  Mann  auf  Erden, 
Und  darf  Monarchen  selbst  frey  unter  Augen  gehn.5 

In  a  study  of  Hagedorn's  Moralische  Gedichte,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  observe  his  growing  love  of  freedom  and  his  increasing  bold- 
ness in  expressing  it.  Emphasizing  in  Der  Weise  the  beauty  of 
freedom,   citing  England  as  its  home,6  and  warning  his  readers 

1  That  Hagedorn  knew  Parnell  is  shown  by  a  letter  from  Bodmer  referring  to  him 
(Werke,  V,  193). 

*  Werke,  I,  39.  *  Modern  Philology,  XII,  8,  p.  185. 

*  Werke,  I,  39.  »  Ibid.,  I,  39.  6  Modern  Philology,  XII,  8,  p.  190. 

76 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       13 

against  the  treachery  of  flattery,  he  continues  to  cherish  this  love  of 
liberty  until  it  becomes  a  passion  with  him.  In  his  Schreiben  an  einen 
Freund  he  scorns  rulers  who  obtain  respect  from  their  subjects  only 
through  the  fear  which  they  inspire: 

Wie  diirftig  prangt  ein  Herr,  den  nur  sein  Thron  erhebt, 
Dem  jeder  nur  gehorcht,  weil  jeder  vor  ihm  bebt!1 

He  goes  so  far  as  to  prophesy  that  a  time  will  come  when  such 
tyrants  will  no  longer  be  tolerated: 

Der  Ehre  Heiligthum  wird  er  nicht  lang'  entweihn. 
Verehrt  ihm  seine  Zeit,  so  denkt  die  Nachwelt  kiihner.2 

He  suggests,  too,  that  the  power  of  a  ruler  is  often  under  the  control 
of  others  without  his  realizing  it: 

Vielleicht  regieren  ihn  Gemahl  und  Kammerdiener, 
Und,  lenken  diese  nicht  den  koniglichen  Sinn, 
So  kanns  ein  Sporus  thun,  und  eine  Buhlerin.3 

Hagedorn  states  in  this  poem  that  friendship  and  flattery  are 
absolutely  incompatible: 

Die  Nacht  der  Schmeicheley,  die  Fursten  stets  umgiebt, 
Erlaubt  dem  Besten  kaum  zu  wissen,  wer  ihn  liebt. 
Und,  kann  die  Gleichheit  nur  den  Bau  der  Freundschaft  griinden, 
Wie  wird  er  einen  Freund,  statt  eines  Heuchlers,  finden?4 

These  lines  should  be  read  in  connection  with  Thomson's  Autumn 
(11.  1235-42),  in  which  the  happiness  of  friendship  is  contrasted 
with  the  "vile  intercourse  of  flatterers."  Hagedorn  continues  in 
the  spirit  of  many  of  Thomson's  utterances  when  he  writes: 

Kennt  ein  Tyrann  auch  Freunde  ? 

Bringt  nicht,  zur  Sicherheit  auf  dem  erstiegnen  Thron, 

Ein  Sohn  den  Vater  um,  der  Vater  einen  Sohn  ?5 

Hagedorn's  final  summing-up  of  the  poem  is  a  mature  expression 
of  his  English  ideals: 

i  Werke,  I,  46.     This  certainly  has  the  vigor  of  Thomson's  utterances  on  tyranny. 
Cf.  especially  Summer,  11.  1477-78: 

The  dread  of  tyrants,  and  the  sole  resource 
Of  those  that  under  grim  oppression  groan. 

» Ibid.,  I,  46.  8  Ibid.,  I,  46.  4  Ibid.,  I,  49.  «  Ibid.,  I,  53. 

77 


14  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Nur  der  is  wirklich  gross,  und  seiner  Zeiten  Zierde, 
Den  kein  Bewundern  tauscht,  noch  lockende  Begierde, 
Den  Kenntniss  gliicklich  macht,  und  nicht  zu  schulgelehrt, 
Der  zwar  Beweise  schatzt,  doch  auch  den  Zweifel  ehrt, 
Vollkommenheit  besitzt,  die  er  nicht  selbst  bekennet, 
Nur  edle  Triebe  ftihlt,  und  Allen  Alles  gonnet, 
Der  das  ist,  was  er  scheint,  und  nur  den  Beyfall  liebt, 
Den  seinen  Tugenden  Recht  und  Gewissen  giebt.1 

The  significant  thing  for  us  in  this  poem  is  that  Hagedorn  in 
his  conception  of  freedom  shows  a  closer  relation  to  Pope  in  his  Essay 
on  Man,  to  Prior  in  his  Solomon,  and  to  Thomson  in  his  Liberty  and 
Seasons,  especially  Autumn  and  Winter,  than  he  did  in  his  earlier 
poems. 

FRIENDSHIP 

In  Hagedorn' s  philosophy  the  crowning  glory  of  virtue  is  friend- 
ship. To  it  he  devoted  the  longest  and,  in  some  respects,  the  best 
of  his  Moralische  Gedichte,  Die  Freundschaft.  In  this  poem  he  first 
does  homage  to  the  dog  of  Ulysses,  which  remained  true  to  its 
master  during  his  long  absence  and  on  his  return  paid  more  respect 
to  him  whom  it  thought  a  beggar,  than  did  the  servants  whom  he 
had  exalted;  then  on  being  stroked  by  the  stranger,  looked  up, 
recognized  him,  and  died. 

Hagedorn  bemoans  the  lack  of  true  friendship  in  his  own  time, 
crowded  out  as  it  is  by  selfishness,  inconstancy,  indifference,  servility, 
deception,  laziness,  and  avarice.  This  leads  up  to  an  exposition  of 
what  real  friendship  means.  He  has  little  hope  that  princes  will 
attain  it,  for,  even  after  reading  the  history  of  former  rulers,  they 
will  themselves  become  the  victims  of  flattery  unless  they  are  strong. 
Friendship  thrives  best  in  the  rural  atmosphere,  not  in  cities  or  at 
courts,  for  in  the  country  freedom  and  peace  reign.  Friendship 
is  the  outgrowth  of  confidence  and  truth,  not  of  jealousy  and  decep- 
tion. It  is  most  easily  killed  by  coolness  and  infidelity.  It  exists 
among  people  of  like  virtues  and  often  among  those  of  congenial 
tastes.  It  cannot  exist  with  selfishness,  flattery,  and  hypocrisy. 
The  real  test  of  friendship  is  fidelity.2 

»  Werke,  I,  55. 

*  In  a  footnote  Hagedorn  gives  as  his  sources  for  the  story  of  Ulysses'  dog,  Odyssey, 
Book  xvii,  Pope's  note  to  line  399,  his  tenth  letter  to  Cromwell,  and  Boileau's  third  critical 
treatise  on  some  passages  of  Longinus  in  the  third  book  of  his  works. 

78 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       15 

Addison's  essay  on  Friendship1  emphasizes  the  same  character- 
istics as  Hagedorn's  Freundschaft.2  Thus  he  writes:  "Among  the 
several  qualifications  of  a  good  friend,  this  wise  man  (the  son  of 
Sirach)3  has  very  justly  singled  out  constancy  and  faithfulness  as 
the  principal.' ' 

According  to  this,  the  ideals  of  Hagedorn  and  Addison  with 
regard  to  friendship  are  fundamentally  the  same.  I  have  already 
quoted  from  No.  15  of  the  Spectator,4  in  which  Addison  represents 
happiness  as  an  "enemy  to  pomp  and  noise,"  enjoying  the  friend- 
ship and  conversation  of  a  few,  select  companions,  and  loving  "shade 
and  solitude,  ....  groves  and  fountains,  fields  and  meadows." 
In  Freundschaft5  Hagedorn  affirms,  as  does  Addison,  that  true 
friendship,  a  prerequisite  of  happiness,  is  to  be  found  only  in  retire- 
ment from  the  pomp  of  the  world: 

0  Land!  der  Tugend  Sitz,  wo  zwischen  Trift  und  Auen 

Uns  weder  Stolz  noch  Neid  der  Sonne  Licht  verbauen, 

Und  Freude  Raum  erblickt;  wo  Ehrgeiz  und  Betrug 

Sich  nicht  dem  Strohdach  naht,  noch  Gift  dem  irdnen  Krug; 

Wo  Anmuth  Witz  gebiert,  und  Witz  ein  sichres  Scherzen, 

Weil  niemand  sinnreich  wird,  um  seinen  Freund  zu  schwarzen; 

Wo  man  nie  wissentlich  Verheissungen  vergisst, 

Und  Redlichkeit  ein  Ruhm,  und  Treu  ein  Erbgut  ist, 

Wie  in  Arcadien.    Erkauft  das  Gold  der  Reichen 

Sich  Freunde  solcher  Art,  die  rechten  Hirten  gleichen  ? 

Hagedorn  also  expresses6  what  Addison  infers  in  Spectator,  No.  15, 
viz.,  that  real  friendship  is  not  to  be  found  in  courts  and  crowds 
of  people: 

Der  Sitz  geheimer  Noth  und  offentlicher  Pracht, 

Der  Hof  ist  nicht  der  Ort,  der  Freundschaft  herzlich  macht. 

Thomson  shows  in  Autumn  (11.  1237  ff.)  his  highest  conception 
of  happiness,  like  Hagedom's,  to  be  a  life  in  retirement  with  a  few 
friends.     Again,  in  Winter  (11.  572-73)  he  expresses  the  same  spirit: 

i  Spectator,  No.  68. 

2  Although  this  essay  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  quotations  from  The  Wisdom 
of  the  Son  of  Sirach,  yet  Addison  gives  the  views  contained  in  it  the  stamp  of  his  own 
approval. 

*  The  parenthesis  is  my  own.  5  Werke,  I,  67. 

*  Modern  Philology,  XII,  8,  p.  188.  « Ibid.,  I,  65. 

79 


16  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Thus  in  some  deep  retirement  would  I  pass 
The  winter  glooms,  with  friends  of  pliant  soul.1 

One  person  who,  in  Hagedorn's  judgment,  is  debarred  from  real 
friendship  is  the  gossip.2  His  poem,  Der  Schweitzer,  calls  to  mind  a 
long  series  of  articles  in  both  the  English  and  German  moral  weeklies 
on  the  subject.     It  was  one  of  their  favorite  themes. 

Hagedorn,  like  Addison  and  Steele,  kept  in  close  touch  with  the 
common  people  and  had  every  opportunity  to  know  their  weaknesses. 
Like  them,  he  spent  much  time  in  coffee-houses,  where  he  could  hear 
the  conversation  of  all  classes  of  people.  In  this  poem  Hagedorn 
represents  himself  as  taking  a  walk  and  meeting  a  gossip,  who  became 
the  subject  of  his  satire.  His  antipathy  for  the  class  of  people  whom 
this  man  represents  is  well  put: 

Ich  eiF,  ich  stehe  still,  von  ihm  mich  zu  befreyn, 

Und  raun'  ich  weiss  nicht  was  dem  Diener  in  die  Ohren; 

Noch  hier  ist  alle  Muh  und  alle  Kunst  verlohren. 

Mir  bricht  der  Angstschweiss  aus.    0  wie  beneidenswerth, 

Gedenk  ich,  ist  der  Thor,  der  Thoren  gerne  hort!3 

In  this  connection  it  is  significant  to  recall  that  Addison  in  the 
Spectator  discusses  the   conversation   of   his   correspondents.4    In 

i  See  also  Winter  (11.  343-44) : 

E'en  in  the  vale,  where  wisdom  loves  to  dwell, 
With  friendship,  peace,  and  contemplation  joined. 

2  The  aversion  of  Hagedorn  to  gossips  was  mentioned  after  his  death  by  his  friend 
Klopstock  (Ed.  Muncker  und  Pawel,  I,  26) : 

So  schliefst  du  sicher  von  den  Schwatzern 
Nicht  ohne  Gotter  ein  muthger  Jungling. 
Hagedorn  refers  to  it  himself  in  the  third  stanza  of  his  Wilnsche  in  which  he  speaks 
of  the  pleasure  which  his  favorite  books  afford  him  when  he  can  retire  with  them  to  a 
place  where  gossips  cannot  intrude  ( Werke,  I,  38) : 

O  wie  vergntigen  mich,  wo  die  kein  Schwatzer  stbret, 
Die  Werke,  deren  Ruhm  die  Meister  uberlebt. 

«  Werke,  I,  85. 

*  Spectator,  No.  67,  is  devoted  to  the  "party  rage"  of  women,  which  has  crept  into 
their  conversation.  Addison  decries  anything  in  their  speech  which  may  detract  from 
"the  softness,  the  modesty,  and  those  endearing  qualities  which  are  natural  to  the  fair 
sex." 

In  No.  16,  referring  to  requests  from  correspondents  to  print  the  private  scandal 
connected  with  the  names  of  particular  persons  and  families,  Addison  replies  that  it  is 
not  his  design  "to  be  a  publisher  of  intrigues  and  cuckoldoms,  or  to  bring  little  infamous 
stories  out  of  their  present  lurking  holes  into  broad  daylight." 

The  familiar  quotation  on  slander  from  Pope's  Rape  of  the  Lock,  Canto  III,  11.  11-16, 
should  be  recalled  here: 

In  various  talk  th'  instructive  hours  they  past, 

Who  gave  the  ball,  or  paid  the  visit  last; 

One  speaks  the  glory  of  the  British  Queen, 

And  one  describes  a  charming  Indian  screen; 

A  third  interprets  motives,  looks,  and  eyes ; 

At  ev'ry  word  a  reputation  dies. 

80 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       17 

No.  46  he  prints  a  letter  from  a  man  who  complains  that  his  wife  is 
a  "gospel-gossip":  "If  at  any  time  I  have  her  company  alone, 
she  is  a  mere  sermon  pop-gun,  repeating  and  discharging  texts, 
proofs,  and  applications  so  perpetually  that  however  weary  I  may 
go  to  bed,  the  noise  in  my  head  will  not  let  me  sleep  until  morning." 
No  less  persistent  is  Hagedorn' s  gossip.  After  trying  in  vain  to 
get  rid  of  him,1  Hagedorn  says  dejectedly: 

Mich  krumm'  ich,  wie  ein  Pferd,  das,  bey  zu  schwerer  Last, 
Kopf,  Maul  und  Ohren  baugt,  und  seinen  Treiber  hasst.2 

On  turning  again  to  Freundschaft,  we  find  that  Hagedorn  got 
from  Pope  more  than  the  suggestion  for  the  opening  of  the  poem. 
In  the  Second  Epistle  of  the  Essay  on  Man,  Pope  begins  with  self- 
love,  "the  spring  of  motion": 

Two  Principles  in  human  nature  reign; 
Self-love,  to  urge,  and  Reason,  to  restrain.8 

and  proceeds  from  that  to  friendship,  a  tie  which  has  grown  out  of 
mutual  need : 

Heav'n  forming  each  on  other  to  depend, 

A  master,  or  a  servant,  or  a  friend, 

Bids  each  on  other  for  assistance  call, 

Till  one  Man's  weakness  grows  the  strength  of  all, 

Wants,  frailties,  passions,  closer  still  ally 

The  common  int'rest,  or  endear  the  tie. 

To  these  we  owe  true  friendship,  love  sincere, 

Each  home-felt  joy  that  life  inherits  here.4 

Hagedorn  follows  the  same  course : 

Die  Liebe  zu  uns  selbst,  allein  die  weise  nur, 
1st  freylich  unsre  Pflicht,  die  Stimme  der  Natur; 
Doch  sie  verkniipft  sich  auch  mit  den  Bewegungsgriinden, 
In  andern  wie  in  uns,  das  Gute  schon  zu  finden, 
Dem  Schonen  hold  zu  seyn.6 

The  self-restraint  urged  by  Pope  throughout  this  epistle  is 
stressed  by  Hagedorn  also: 

*  In  the  chatter  of  this  gossip  is  a  passing  reference  to  the  English  people  ( Werke,  I, 
86):   "Im  Gehen,  glauben  Sies,  bin  ich  ein  rechter  Britte." 

»  Werke,  I,  87.  4  Ibid.,  11.  249-56. 

»  Essay  on  Man,  Ep.  II,  11.  53-54.  *  Werke,  I,  62  ff. 

81 


18  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Wie  ruhig  ist  ein  Herz,  das  seine  Pflichten  kennt! 
Das  jede  seine  Lust,  wie  seine  Richtschnur,  nennt! 
Von  ihm,  und  nur  von  ihm,  wird  Freundschaft  recht  geschatzet, 
Die  wahrer  Dichtkunst  gleich,  so  Dessert,  als  ergetzet.1 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  Hagedorn's  warm  friend- 
ships for  contemporary  authors,2  but  sufficient  emphasis  has  not  been 
put  upon  the  fact  that  in  this  feature  also  Hagedorn  was  an  innovator. 
Schuster  states3  that  in  Hagedorn's  time  there  was  scarcely  a  trace 
of  a  Freundschaftscultus  in  Germany: 

Von  Freundeskreisen  und  freundlichem  Leben  wird  aber  mit  einer 
einzigen  Ausnahme  in  den  deutschen  moralischen  Wochenschriften  damals 
nirgends  gesprochen.  Dieselbe  findet  sich  in  den  Diskursen  der  Maler, 
wo  man  II.  Th.  IV.  D.  auf  die  Freundschaft,  wie  sie  Cicero  behandelt  hat, 
wieder  aufmerksam  macht;  sonst  trifft  man  in  den  Wochenschriften  nicht 
eine  einzige  besondere  Abhandlung  iiber  das  Wesen  und  den  Begriff  der 
Freundschaft,  welcher  Mangel  wohl  den  sichersten  Beweis  giebt,  dass 
damals  in  Deutschland  kaum  eine  Spur  von  einem  Freundschaftscultus 
vorhanden  gewesen  sein  kann. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Schuster4  is  correct  in  asserting  further 
that  Hagedorn's  stay  in  England  and  his  familiarity  with  English  life 
and  literature  had  much  to  do  with  his  development  of  the  Freund- 
schaftscultus in  Germany.  This  was  fostered  by  the  younger  German 
writers  who  got  much  of  their  inspiration  from  him,  especially  the 
groups  of  poets  in  Leipzig  and  Halle.5 

LOVE   OF  COUNTRY  LIFE 

With  Hagedorn,  the  farmer  is  not  only  a  useful  member  of  society, 
but  as  a  result  of  his  environment  a  happy  one  as  well.  In  this 
respect  he  agrees  with  Thomson  in  dividing  society  into  two  classes. 
In  one  are  the  quiet  dwellers  of  the  country,  who  enjoy  a  reasonable 
competence  and  are  consequently  happy,  contented,  and  independent 

1  Ibid.,  I,  69.  8  Schuster,  op.  cit.,  p.  31. 

*  Modern  Philology,  XII,  5,  p.  124.  4  Schuster,  op.  cit.,  p.  31. 

B  Hagedorn's  friendship  for  the  younger  writers  was  not  a  matter  of  mere  sentiment. 
It  expressed  itself  in  such  assistance  as  suggestions,  lending  of  books,  and,  when  necessary, 
financial  aid.  His  assistance  to  the  "Bauersohn,"  Gottlieb  Fuchs,  might  be  men- 
tioned in  this  connection.  He  interested  his  Hamburg  friends  also  in  the  blind  poet 
Enderlein,  and  raised  the  sum  of  200  thaler,  which  was  given  to  Enderlein  in  such  a  way 
that  he  did  not  know  from  whom  it  came.  Rabener  called  Hagedorn  "ein  liebreicher 
Vormund  der  witzigen  und  nothleidenden  Kopfe  in  Sachsen"  (Literarische  Pamphleten, 
by  Bodmer,  p.  130). 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       19 

in  spirit;  in  the  other  are  those  who  live  in  cities  and  strive  in  vain 
for  happiness  through  the  attainment  of  wealth  and  influence. 
The  following  lines  from  Gliickseligkeit  express  Hagedorn's  attitude 
in  general  toward  the  countryman: 

O  Gliick  der  Niedrigen,  der  Schnitter  und  der  Hirten, 
Die  sich  in  Flur  und  Wald,  in  Trift  und  Thai  bewirthen, 
Wo  Einfalt  und  Natur,  die  ihre  Sitten  lenkt, 
Auch  jeder  rauhen  Kost  Geschmack  und  Segen  schenkt!1 

Without  suggesting  that  Hagedorn  was  directly  influenced  by 
the  following  poem  from  Thomson,2 1  quote  it  as  illustrating  the  kin- 
ship of  ideas  between  the  two  poets : 

If  those  who  live  in  shepherd's  bower, 
Press  not  the  rich  and  stately  bed: 
The  new  mown  hay  and  breathing  flower 
A  softer  couch  beneath  them  spread. 

If  those  who  sit  at  shepherd's  board, 
Soothe  not  their  taste  by  wanton  art; 
They  take  what  nature's  gifts  afford, 
And  take  it  with  a  cheerful  heart. 

If  those  who  drain  the  shepherd's  bowl, 
No  high  and  sparkling  wines  can  boast, 
With  wholesome  cups  they  cheer  the  soul, 
And  crown  them  with  the  village  toast. 

If  those  who  join  in  shepherd's  sport, 
Gay  dancing  on  the  daisied  ground, 
Have  not  the  splendour  of  a  court; 
Yet  love  adorns  the  merry  round. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  in  connection  with  what  has  just 
been  said,  that  in  Hagedorn's  time  a  revolution  in  German  thought 
was  marked  by  a  return  to  nature,  which  he  united  with  Brockes 
in  advocating.  In  Hagedorn's  striving  for  simplicity,  his  break 
with  conventions,  preceding  as  it  did  the  introduction  of  Rousseau 
into  Germany  by  a  good  many  years,  helped  to  do  for  Germany 
what  Thomson  did  for  England. 

i  Werke,  I,  31. 

2  "Contentment,"  from  Alfred,  Act  III,  sc.  v. 

83 


20  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Again  although  Hagedorn's  beauty  of  language  and  perfection 
of  style  have  frequently  been  commented  on,  and  that  usually  in 
connection  with  his  imitation  of  classic  writers,  comparatively  little 
has  ever  been  said  about  Hagedorn  as  an  innovator,  who  helped  to 
introduce  into  Germany  the  directness  of  description  characteristic 
of  English  Romanticists.  The  Germans  have  not  thought  of  him  as 
we  think  today  of  Thomson,  but  his  poetry,  as  does  Thomson's, 
belongs  to  a  transition  period.  When  we  think  of  Thomson  as  the 
forerunner  of  Wordsworth,  not  only  in  his  treatment  of  nature,  but 
also  in  his  simplicity  of  style,  we  do  not  forget  that  his  dramas  and  a 
large  part  of  his  poetry  are  conventional  in  style,1  but  we  do  not  on 
this  account  overlook  the  romantic  elements  in  his  Seasons.  Neither 
should  we  let  the  formality  of  Hagedorn' s  style  blind  us  to  the 
valuable  work  which  he  did  in  introducing  a  new  type  of  literature 
into  Germany,  nor  should  we  overlook  the  part  which  Thomson 
very  probably  played  in  influencing  him. 

Special  attention  should  be  given  to  Hagedorn's  Horaz,  since  it 
is  very  closely  related  in  spirit  to  Thomson's  Spring.  The  opening 
stanza2  suggests  the  enjoyment  of  nature  which  one  familiar  with 
Thomson's  poem  will  recall  as  decidedly  characteristic  of  him.3 
The  similarity  in  the  handling  of  the  theme  is  also  significant.  The 
cheerful  spirit,  characteristic  of  both  Hagedorn's  and  Thomson's 
poems,  was,  as  has  been  said  before,4  almost  entirely  lacking  in  the 
German  poetry  immediately  preceding  Hagedorn.  "Das  Recht 
vergniigt  zu  seyn"  was  an  important  element  in  his  belief,  as  well 
as  in  that  of  Thomson  and  Addison.  This  was  the  feature  in  his 
work  which  Hagedorn's  followers  among  the  Anacreontic  poets  devel- 
oped, as  will  be  shown  in  a  later  study  of  Hagedorn's  Lieder.  In 
this  last  of  his  Moralische  Gedichte,  Horaz,  more  than  in  any  of  the 
earlier  ones,  Hagedorn  emphasizes  this  spirit  of  cheerfulness,  another 
evidence  that  his  point  of  view  was  consistently  becoming  that 
of  contemporary  English  rather  than  German  writers. 

1  Many  of  the  stilted  expressions  of  pseudo-Classicism  still  clung  to  Thomson;  for 
example:  "musky  tribes,"  "finny  race,"  "glossy  kind,"  "busy  nations." 

'Modern  Philology,  XII,  8,  p.  183. 

Cf.  Thomson's  Spring,  U.  1-4;   186-221. 

«  Modern  Philology,  XII,  8,  pp.  188  f. 

84 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       21 

In  this  poem  nature  plays  a  more  important  part  than  in  any  of 
the  previous  poems  of  this  group.  Only  a  person  who  has  learned  to 
see  nature  first  hand  could  write  such  lines  as  the  following: 

Du  sanest  oft  an  hoffnungsvollen  Baumen, 

Um  Rind'  und  Stamm,  das  Moos  zu  haufig  keimen.1 

Such  a  minute  observance  of  details  in  nature  is  consonant  with 
the  development  toward  Romanticism  in  England  during  the  eight- 
eenth century.  Thomson's  importance  in  making  nature  more  than 
a  mere  ornament  to  poetry  is  too  well  known  to  need  more  than 
passing  mention  here.  That  Hagedorn  was  a  pioneer  in  Germany, 
as  Thomson  was  in  England,  in  a  sympathetic  observation  of  nature 
is  what  concerns  us. 

As  with  Thomson,  so  with  Hagedorn,  the  quiet  life  of  the  country 
answers  a  real  need  in  its  restfulness  to  the  weary  city  dweller: 

Wann  sen  ich  dich,  in  Stunden  freyer  Run, 
Beym  Schlaf  am  Bach,  aus  Biichern  kluger  Alten, 
Vergessenheit  der  Miihe  zu  erhalten, 
Der  oftern  Last,  die  in  der  Stadt  mich  driickt, 
Und  meine  Lust  in  enger  Luft  erstickt  ? 
Wann  werd'  ich  mich  in  jenen  kuhlen  Gninden, 
An  jenem  Quell,  verneuert,  wieder  finden  ?2 

The  similarity  of  Hagedorn's  point  of  view  and  Thomson's  on 
this  subject  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  above  with  a  passage 
from  Thomson's  poem,  Of  a  Country  Life  (11.  90  f.) : 

When  the  noon  sun  directly  darts  his  beams 
Upon  your  giddy  heads,  with  fiery  gleams, 
Then  you  may  bathe  yourself  in  cooling  streams; 
Or  to  the  sweet  adjoining  grove  retire, 
Where  trees  with  interwoven  boughs  conspire 
To  form  a  grateful  shade. 


There  you  may  stretch  yourself  upon  the  grass, 
And,  lulled  with  music,  to  kind  slumbers  pass: 
No  meagre  cares  your  fancy  will  distract, 
And  on  that  scene  no  tragic  fears  will  act. 

But  grant,  ye  powers,  that  it  may  be  my  lot 
To  live  in  peace  from  noisy  towns  remote. 

»  Werke,  I,  99.  "  Werke,  I,  99. 

85 


22  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Hagedorn,  as  well  as  Thomson,  likes  to  turn  from  a  description 
of  the  artificial  pleasures  of  the  city  to  the  innocent  ones  of  the  coun- 
try. Thomson's  Autumn  (11.  1246-77),  in  which  he  expresses  his 
aversion  to  the  restlessness  and  deception  of  the  city,  and  his  love 
of  the  quiet  and  sincerity  of  the  country,  is  typical  of  many  such 
passages  in  the  Seasons.1  In  general,  the  same  features  are  observ- 
able in  Hagedorn' s  earlier  moral  poetry,  but  not  until  this  poem  does 
he  mention  with  such  "  Thomson-like "  concreteness^  the  country 
life  as  in  the  following  lines : 

Der  Schafe  Schur,  der  Vogelf ang,  die  Jagd, 
Die  Taubenzucht,  die  Wartung  seiner  Bienen, 
Das  frische  Bad,  der  stille  Schlaf  im  Grunen. 


Sein  Vieh,  sein  Land,  sein  Garten  giebt  Gerichte, 
Die  Milch,  den  Fisch,  den  Braten  und  die  Friichte, 
Sein  Weinberg  Wein,  den  kein  Verkaufer  mischt.3 

In  connection  with  the  same  passage  from  Autumn,  cited  above, 
it  should  be  noted  in  passing  that  Hagedorn' s  conception  of  domestic 
happiness  also  is  found  to  be  one  where  a  simple  meal  with  one's 
friends  plays  an  important  part: 

An  Kriegsgerath  besitzt  er  nur  ein  Zelt, 
In  welchem  er  mit  Freunden  Tafel  halt.4 

But  the  activity  which  belongs  to  a  life  in  the  country  is  essential 
to  this  enjoyment: 

Dort  schmeckt  dir  Brod,  wie  sonst  kein  Kuchen  that, 
Denn  alles  schmeckt,  wo  man  Bewegung  hat.5 

i  Cf .  The  Castle  of  Indolence,  stanzas  XLIX-LVTII. 

8  Cf.  Myra  Reynolds,  The  Treatment  of  Nature  in  English  Poetry  between  Pope  and 
Wordsworth  (Chicago:  University  of  Chicago  Press,  1909),  for  a  careful  treatment  of 
Thomson's  descriptive  poetry. 

«  Werke,  I,  104.  4  Ibid.,  I,  104. 

6  Werke,  I,  105.  Hagedorn's  lines  on  fishing  (Werke,  I,  104)  may  have  been  sug- 
gested by  Thomson's  description  of  fishing  in  Spring  (11.  379-442)  and  the  one  in  his 
poem  Of  a  Country  Life  (11.  53-66) : 

Und  was  er  sonst  bald  mit  begliickten  Handen 
Zu  angeln  pflegt,  bald  in  der  Netze  Wanden 
Gefangen  fiihrt,  bald,  wie  den  fetten  Aal, 
In  Reusen  lockt  zum  frohen  Mittagsmahl. 

I  add  here  four  lines  in  which  his  concreteness  is  especially  marked  (ibid.,  I,  104) : 
Im  Teich,  im  Strom,  wo  Schley  und  Karpe  springen, 
Forell'  und  Schmerl  durch  Sand  und  Kiesel  dringen, 
Der  Frosche  Feind,  der  Krebs,  geharnischt  laicht, 
Und,  ganz  vertieft,  die  bartge  Barbe  streicht. 

86 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       23 

Though  such  passages  as  the  above  are  a  distinct  echo  of  Horace,1 
the  admiration  for  whom  formed  a  bond  of  sympathy  between  Hage- 
dorn and  Thomson,  the  following  evidence  especially  is  strongly  in 
favor  of  our  regarding  Hagedorn  as  having  been  influenced  by 
Thomson  in  his  treatment  of  nature.  In  the  first  place,  the  evidence 
advanced  in  the  preceding  pages  indicates  a  close  relationship 
between  Thomson  and  Hagedorn  in  other  significant  characteristics. 
Then,  in  addition,  Thomson  had  become  well  known  in  literary 
circles  of  Germany  by  the  time  Horaz  was  written.  Not  only  had 
Brockes'  translation  of  the  Seasons  been  published  seven  years 
before,  but  imitations  of  it,  as  well,  had  begun  to  appear.2  In  view 
of  this  fact,  and  of  the  similarity  between  the  two  poets,  it  is  logical 
to  assume  that  Hagedorn,  probably  the  widest  reader  of  English 
literature  in  Germany  at  that  time,  was  influenced,  as  well  as  his 
contemporaries,  by  Thomson's  attitude  toward  nature. 

References  to  domestic  activities  form  an  important  feature  in 
the  German  imitations  of  the  Seasons,  especially  Kleist's  Frilhling, 
Zacharia's  Tageszeiten,  and  Gessner's  Idyllen.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  previous  to  the  time  of  Thomson  any  mention  of  common- 
place themes  in  the  poetry  of  England  and  Germany  was  con- 
sidered in  bad  taste.  It  is  significant  that  Hagedorn  was  one 
of  the  first  German  poets  to  refer  in  a  natural  way  to  everyday 
pursuits. 

In  connection  with  Thomson's  influence  upon  the  eighteenth- 
century  poets  of  Germany,  I  believe  that  it  was  not  as  great  upon 
Brockes  and  Haller  as  has  generally  been  supposed.  Brockes  had 
been  writing  at  least  sixteen  years  before  Thomson's  Spring  first 
appeared  in  English,  and  he  had  already  formed  his  style,  which  was 
microscopic  in  contrast  with  the  panoramic  treatment  characteristic 
of  Thomson's  style.  Brockes  and  Haller  both  describe  nature 
with  scientific  accuracy,  but  fail  to  animate  it  as  Thomson  does.  In 
this  respect  Hagedorn  is  much  closer  to  Thomson  than  is  either 
Brockes  or  Haller.  It  is  admitted  that  Hagedorn  in  his  poems 
written  before  going  to  England  followed  Brockes  in  his  microscopic 

1  Cf.  especially  Epodes  of  Horace,  Ode  11. 

*  Kleist's  Frilhling,  the  best  of  the  imitations  of  Thomson's  Spring,  had  appeared 
two  years  earlier  than  Hagedorn's  Horaz. 

87 


24  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

manner,1  but  like  Kleist  and  Wieland,  who  were  also  influenced 
by  Brockes  in  their  early  writing,  he  later  abandoned  this  style 
and  learned  to  use  the  broad  effects  characteristic  of  Thomson. 
Unlike  Zacharia,  and  other  imitators  of  Thomson,  Hagedorn  always 
stays  within  the  bounds  of  good  taste  in  his  choice  and  treatment 
of  subjects.  Like  Thomson  he  made  everything  poetic  which  he 
described.  Further,  Hagedorn  is  more  closely  related  to  Thomson 
in  another  characteristic  than  are  Brockes  and  Haller:  the  work 
of  both  of  these  latter  writers  is  characterized  by  a  somber  tone 
which  is  lacking  in  the  poetry  of  Thomson  and  Hagedorn.  The 
idyllic  element  which  Haller,  Wieland,  and  Gessner  had  learned 
from  Thomson  is  found  also  in  Hagedorn's  Horaz.  When  we  com- 
pare Hagedorn  with  his  German  contemporaries  with  regard  to 
Thomson's  influence  upon  their  attitude  toward  nature,  it  appears 
certain  that  he  was  under  the  spell  of  the  English  poet,  and  that 
he  was  probably  influenced  more  than  were  Brockes  and  Haller, 
and  earlier  than  were  Kleist,  Wieland,  Zacharia,  or  Gessner.2 

In  summing  up  the  qualities  which  Hagedorn  stresses,  not  only 
in  this  poem,  but  in  all  his  Moralische  Gedichte  as  well,  I  cannot  do 
better  than  use  a  passage  in  Thomson's  Spring  (11.  1161-64): 

An  elegant  sufficiency,  content, 
Retirement,  moral  quiet,  friendship,  books, 
Ease  and  alternate  labour,  useful  life, 
Progressive  virtue,  and  approving  heaven! 

SUMMARY 

In  the  preceding  pages  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  the 
development  of  the  influence  of  English  literature  upon  the  thought 
and  form  of  Hagedorn's  didactic  poems.  In  considering  this  influence 
upon  his  thought,  special  attention  has  been  paid  to  his  interest  in 
the  philosophy  of  the  English  Deists,  since  he  was  the  first  to  do  in 
Germany  what  Pope  had  done  in  England,  viz.,  to  popularize 
deistic  philosophy.  In  tracing  the  development  of  Hagedorn's 
conceptions  of  virtue,  wisdom,  freedom,  friendship,  philanthropy,  and 

1  It  will  be  recalled  that  Hagedorn  in  his  later  years  wrote  a  parody  on  this  detailed 
form  of  description  employed  by  Brockes. 

1  As  a  matter  of  pure  speculation,  I  offer  the  suggestion  that  Hagedorn  may  have 
helped  Kleist,  Wieland,  Zacharia,  and  Gessner  to  know  Thomson. 

88 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       25 

kindred  subjects  which  constantly  recur  throughout  his  moral  poems, 
attention  has  been  called  to  the  gradual  change  in  Hagedorn's 
expressions  concerning  these  themes;  and  especially  as  he  departed 
from  the  prevalent  views  of  his  German  contemporaries  and 
approached  those  of  his  English  models,  chief  among  whom  were 
Pope,  Prior,  and  most  probably  Thomson  and  Addison.  In  his 
treatment  of  nature  Thomson  has  been  cited  as  the  probable  inspira- 
tion of  Hagedorn  in  his  marked  advance  in  simplicity  and  directness 
over  most  of  his  contemporaries.  The  spirit  of  cheerfulness  per- 
vading his  poetry,  which  had  a  marked  influence  upon  the 
Anacreontic  poetry  of  Germany,  has  been  shown  to  be  mainly  an 
outgrowth  of  his  ideas  of  virtue,  freedom,  and  friendship,  all  of 
which  bear  the  stamp  of  English  influence. 

In  observing  the  influence  of  English  literature  upon  Hagedorn's 
form,  great  importance  has  been  attached  to  his  introduction  of  the 
Moralisches  Gedicht  into  German  literature.  Since  this  form,  which 
he  learned  to  use  from  Pope,  afterward  gained  great  popularity  in 
Germany,  this  is  a  matter  of  considerable  significance.  Hagedorn's 
innovation  is  no  less  important  in  the  use  of  the  iambic  pentameter 
with  the  heroic  couplet  at  the  end  of  each  stanza,  as  in  Der  Gelehrte 
and  Der  Weise,  and  in  the  employment  of  the  five-foot  couplet 
exclusively  in  the  last  of  these  poems,  Horaz;  and  this  innovation 
has  been  cited  as  clearly  of  English  origin.  The  concise,  epigram- 
matic quality  of  Hagedorn's  style,  another  innovation  in  German 
literature,  has  been  pointed  out  as  a  contribution  to  him  from  Pope. 

Although  Hagedorn  followed  classic  ideals,  as  did  his  English 
contemporaries,  his  similarity  to  the  latter  in  his  manner  of  expressing 
those  ideals  is  too  close  to  be  regarded  as  merely  accidental.  Again, 
it  may  be  contended  that  since  Hagedorn  was  influenced  in  these 
poems  by  the  classics,  especially  Horace,  he  would  have  written 
as  he  did  even  if  he  had  never  known  English  literature.  But  this 
is  mere  speculation,  and  is  contrary  to  positive  evidence.  The  evi- 
dence shows  that  although  he  expressed  many  of  the  same  ideas 
found  in  the  classics,  his  treatment  of  them  resembles  that  of  his 
English  contemporaries  more  closely  than  it  does  that  of  the  classics.1 

1  Hagedorn  in  his  development  combines  an  approach  to  the  conciseness  of  form  and 
compactness  of  meter  characteristic  of  Pope,  with  the  tendency  toward  Romanticism 
for  which  Thomson  stands. 


26  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Furthermore,  his  lifelong  interest  in  English  books  and  moral  weeklies, 
his  association  with  literary  men  who  also  were  students  of  English 
literature,  and  the  impressions  made  upon  him  during  his  stay  in 
London  form  evidence  which  approaches  conclusiveness  in  a  final 
consideration  of  our  argument.  Hagedorn's  breadth  of  knowledge 
of  English  life  and  literature  was  so  great  that  it  must  have  exerted 
an  influence  upon  what  he  wrote,  especially  since  he  was  avowedly 
a  free  imitator.1  Moreover,  it  is  of  special  importance  to  note  that 
his  writings  bear  practically  no  stamp  of  English  influence  until  after 
he  has  been  in  England. 

Finally,  the  English  influences  upon  the  thought  and  form  of 
Hagedorn's  moral  writings  are  important,  not  only  on  account  of 
the  effect  which  they  had  upon  him,  but  also  because  of  that  which 
they  exerted  through  him  upon  his  successors  in  Germany. 


APPENDIX 
HAGEDORN'S    REFERENCES    TO    ENGLISH    LITERATURE2 

Addison.    I,  v.3    Cites  Spectator,  No.  512,  as  one  of  the  sources  of  Der 
Sultan  u.  sein  Bezier  Azem. 
Ill,  ix,  footnote  15.    Quotes  Addison's  lines  on  Waller. 
Ill,  x,  footnote  17.    Reference  to  Guardian,  No.  67. 
Ill,  xi,  footnote  19.    Quotes  from  Spectator,  No.  85. 
Ill,  xi,  footnote  20.    Reference  to  Spectator,  Nos.  70  and  74. 
Ill,  xx,  footnote  29.     Quotes  from  his  Discourse  on  Ancient  Learn- 
ing, p.  6. 
Ill,  xxix.    Reference  to  his  odes. 
Ill,  100,  footnote.     Reference  to  his  Remarks  on  Several  Parts  of 

Italy,  p.  212  ff. 
V,  102.    Reference  to  Spectator — never  tires  of  it. 
Akenside.    V,  188.    Bodmer's  criticism  of  Akenside's  Art  of  Preserving 
Health.  * 

V,  204.    Bodmer  thanks  Hagedorn  for  the  Pleasures  of  Imagina- 
tion. 

i  Modern  Philology,  XII,  8,  pp.  179  f. 

*  There  are,  without  doubt,  other  English  references  in  Hagedorn's  unpublished 
letters,  to  which  I  have  not  had  access. 

8  The   references   are  to    Hagedorn's   Werke  (Hamburg,   1800),   unless   otherwise 
indicated. 

90 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       27 

Beaumont,  Francis.    IV,  123,  footnote.     Quotes  from  In  the  Praise  of  Sack, 
from  A  Select  Collection  of  English  Songs,  II,  28, 
source  of  Mischmasch. 
Behn,  Aphra.     Ill,  ix.     Reference  to  her  as  song  writer. 
Blackwells.     Ill,  xxii,  footnote  30.     Reference  to  Enquiry  into  the  Life  and 

Writings  of  Homer,  pp.  80-103,  196. 
Blainville.     II,   20,   footnote   3.    Reference   to    Travels   through  Holland, 

Germany,  etc.,  I,  263,  264. 
Broome.    V,  193.    Bodmer  refers  to  him  as  son  of  Homer. 
Brucker.     I,  25,  footnote  12.    Reference  to  Histor.  Critic.  Philosophiae, 
I,  557. 

I,  48,  footnote  27.    Ibid.,  I,  655-56. 
I,  71,  footnote  22.    Ibid.,  I,  1315. 
I,  125,  footnote  3.    Ibid.,  I,  871. 
Ill,  113,  footnote  1.    Ibid.,  II. 
Ill,  114,  footnote  2.    Ibid.,  I,  1242-48. 
Buckingham.     I,  120.    Quotation  from  him  used  at  head  of  Witz  und 
Tugend. 
Ill,  ix.     Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 
Ill,  xiii,  footnote  24.     Quotation  from  him. 
Chaucer.    V,  142.    Reference  to  his  fables. 
Cibber.    V,  166.    Bodmer  refers  to  him. 

Cobb.    I,  138.    Reference  to  one  of  his  epigrams  as  a  source  of  Susanna. 
Congreve.    Ill,  xxix.    Reference  to  his  odes. 
Cowley.    Ill,  xvii.    Reference  to  him. 
Croxal.    V,  142.    Reference  to  his  fables. 
Delaney,  D.    V,  121.    Reference  to  him. 
Donne,  Dr.    Ill,  xvii.    Reference  to  him. 

Dorset,  Earl  of.    II,  ix.    Reference  to  Knotting  in  Works  of  the  Earls  of 
Rochester,  Roscommon,  Dorset,  etc.  (London,  1721),  II, 
53-54,  the  source  of  Daphnis. 
Ill,  ix.    Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 
Ill,  xi.    Reference  to  him. 
Dryden.    II,  ix.    Reference  to  his  Fables,  185-92,  as  source  of  Philemon  and 
Baucis. 
Ill,  xi,  footnote  19.    Reference  to  him. 
Ill,  xxix.    Reference  to  his  odes. 
V,  142.    Reference  to  his  fables. 
D'Ursey.    Ill,  x.    Reference  to  him. 
Eheselden,  Wm.    I,  123.    Carpser  is  called  the  "Eheselden  der  Deutschen." 

V,  119.    Reference  to  "  Deutschen  Eheselden." 
Fenton.    II,  ix.    Reference  to  Miscellaneous  Poems,  ed.  by  Lintat  (1722), 
II,  124,  Freeman  and  Wild,  Two  Hot  Young  Gallants,  etc. 
91 


28  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Fielding.    V,  167.    Bodmer  thanks  Hagedorn  for  sending  him  the  Life  of 

Joseph  Andrews. 
Fitzosborne,  Sir  Thomas.    I,  61,  footnote  6.     Reference  to  his  Letters  on 

Several  Subjects  (London,  1748),  Letter  19. 
I,  75,  footnote  31.    Ibid.,  Letter  15. 
Forrester.    I,  116,  footnote  47.     Reference  to  his  Polite  Philosopher  (Edin- 
burgh, 1734). 
Gay.     II,  vi.    Cites  his  Fables  (1733),  No.  50,  pp.  190-94,  source  of  Der 
Hase  und  viele  Freunde. 

II,  viii.     Cites  Poems  on  Several  Occasions  (London,  1731),  II,  55,  as 
one  of  the  sources  of  Aurelius  und  Beelzebub. 

III,  ix.    Reference  to  him  as  song-writer. 
V,  142.    Reference  to  his  Fables. 

Gildon.    V,  166.    Bodmer  refers  to  him. 

Glover.    V,  85.     Compares  Triller,  author  of  a  mock  heroic,  to  Glover. 
Gordon.    1, 48,  footnote  26.     Reference  to  Discourses  upon  Tacitus,  Disc.  IV, 
1,81-100. 
I,  64,  footnote  10.    Ibid.,  Ill,  55-56,  105. 
I,  65,  footnote  12.    Ibid.,  Ill,  71. 
Gould,  W.    I,  60,  footnote  5.     Reference  to  his  Account  of  English  Ants 

(London,  1747),  p.  59. 
Hobbes.    II,  212.    Dedicates  poem  to  him. 

Hume.    I,  61,  footnote  6.    Reference  to  his  Essays  Moral  and  Political 
(London,  1748),  XIV,  119-26. 
V,  211.    Bodmer  thanks  Hagedorn  for  sending  him  Hume's  Essays. 
Hutcheson.     I,  76,  footnote  25  (ed.  Hamburg,  1757).     Reference  to  Essay 
on  the  Nature  and  Conduct  of  the  Passions  and  Affections 
(London,  1742),  pp.  258  ff. 
Jonson,  Ben.    Ill,  xi.     Reference  to  him. 
Johnson,  Samuel.    V,  98.     Reference  to  his  Dictionary. 

V,  145.     Reference  to  his  "Incomparable  Rambler." 
Lauder.    V,  145.     Reference  to  his  opposition  to  Paradise  Lost. 
L'Estrange,  Sir  Roger.    II,  v.     Cites  his  Fables  (London,  1694),  No.  86, 
as  one  of  the  sources  of  Das  Delphische  Orakel 
und  der  Gottlose. 
II,  vi.     Cites  ibid.,  No.  69,  as  source  of  Der  Fuchs 

ohne  Schwanz. 
II,  vii.    Cites  ibid.,  No.  89,  pp.  176,  177,  as  source 
of  Die  Barenhaut. 
Mallet.     I,    135,  footnote.     Reference  to  his  Poem  of  Verbal  Criticism 
(London,  1743). 
Ill,  ix.     Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 
92 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       29 

Mallet — continued 

V,  97.    Reference  to  his  excellent  poem,  Amyntor  and  Theodora, 
his  Poems  on  Several  Occasions,  in  which  he  calls  attention  to 
the  Poem  of  Verbal  Criticism,  which  pleases  him,  and  the  Excur- 
sion, which  he  said  was  regarded  in  England  as  a  masterpiece. 
V,  142.    Reference  to  his  fables. 

V,  207.    Bodmer  thanks  Hagedorn  for  Amyntor,  Verbal  Criticism 
and  Excursion. 
Mandeville.    V,  142.    Reference  to  his  fables. 
Mead,  Richard.    I,  129,  footnote.    Reference  to  his  Mechanical  Account 

of  Poisons. 
Middleton.    I,  45,  footnote  18.    Reference  to  his  History  of  the  Life  of 

Cicero,  I,  85,  94,  98,  104. 
Milton.     V,  105  ff .    Reference  to  him. 
V,  109.    Reference  to  him. 
V,  112.    Reference  to  him. 
V,  113.    Reference  to  him. 
V,  114  ff.    Reference  to  him. 
V,  145.    Reference  to  him. 
Newton.     I,  23  (ed.  1757).    Reference  to  him. 

V,  146.     Reference  to  him. 
Oldham,  John.    II,  vi.     Cites  The  Works  of  Mr.  John  Oldham,  II,  128,  as 

one  of  the  sources  of  Der  Wolf  und  der  Hund. 
Orrery,  Lord.    I,  61,  footnote  6.     Reference  to  15th  letter  of  Lord  Orrery 
to  his  son,  Hamilton  Boyle,  in  the  Remarks  on  the  Life 
and  Writings  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Swift  (London,  1752),  p. 
184. 
V,  120.    Reference  to  him. 
Parnell.    V,  193.    Bodmer  refers  to  him  as  son  of  Homer. 
Pemberton.    V,  167.    Bodmer  thanks  Hagedorn  for  sending  him  Observa- 
tions on  Epic  Poetry. 
Phillips,  Ambrosius.    Ill,  ix.    Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 

V,  166.    Bodmer  refers  to  him. 
Pope.    I,  xix,  footnote.    Reference  to  him. 
I,  xx,  footnote.    Reference  to  him. 
I,  xxx.     Quotes  from  Essay  on  Criticism,  1.  584. 
I,  xxxi.     Quotes  from  Essay  on  Criticism,  11.  152-57. 
I,  xxxii,  footnote  3.     Quotes  from  Observations  on  Homer,  p.  2. 
I,  xxxiii.    Quotes  from  him.    Reference  to  Pope's  note  to  the  399th 
line  of  the  17th  book  of  the  Odyssey  and  to  Pope's  10th  letter  to 
Cromwell. 
I,  135,  footnote.     Reference  to  Imitations  of  Horace,  p.  430,  451. 

93 


30  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Pope — continued 

I,  142,  footnote  3.     Quotes  from  Essay  on  Modern  Education  in 
Pope's  and  Swift's  Miscellanies  (London,  1736),  III,  182. 

I,  175,  footnote.     Quotes  from  Dunciad,  II,  33,  34. 

II,  viii.    Cites  The  Miscellanies  by  Pope  and  Swift,  Vol.  Ill,  as  the 
source  of  J  a  und  Nein. 

II,  118,  footnote.     Quotes  from  Eloise  to  Abelard. 

II,  135,  footnote  2.     Reference  to  his  translation  of  the  Odyssey. 

III,  xii.    Reference  to  Pope's  and  Swift's  Miscellanies,  V,  120. 
Ill,  xxix.     Reference  to  St.  Cecilia. 

V,  16.     Reference  to  German  translation  of  Essay  on  Man. 
V,  18.     Quotes  from  Pope. 

V,  60,  footnote.     Reference  to  Latin  translation  of  Essay  on  Man. 
V,  98  ff .     Reference  to  Dunciad. 

V,  110.     Reference  to  rules  of  sound  in  6th  letter  to  Walsh. 
V,  115  ff.     Reference  to  Hagedorn's  translation  of  Universal  Prayer. 
V,  122.     Reference  to  Italian  translation  of  Essay  on  Man. 
V,  141,  footnote.     Reference  to  Rape  of  the  Lock. 
V,  166.    Bodmer  refers  to  him. 
Prior.     I,  136,  footnote.     Quotes  epigram  from  him. 

I,  138.     Reference  to  an  epigram  of  his  as  one  of  the  sources  of 
Susanna. 

II,  ix.     Cites  his  Poems,  I,  97,  as  source  of  Liebe  und  Gegenliebe. 

II,  x.     Cites  his  Poems,  I,  109-15,  as  source  of  Paulus  Purganti  und 

Agnese. 
II,  95,  footnote  1.     Quotes  from  Hans  Carvel,  one  of  the  sources  of 

Aurelius  und  Beelzebub. 
II,  140,  footnote  5.     Quotes  from  his  Ladle,  one  of  the  sources  of 

Philemon  und  Baucis. 

II,  148,  footnote.     Quotes  from  his  Paulo  Purganti  and  His  Wife, 
one  of  the  sources  of  Paulus  Purganti  und  Agnese. 

III,  ix.     Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 
V,  142.    Reference  to  his  fables. 

V,  166.    Bodmer  refers  to  him. 
Ramsay,  Allen.    II,  v.    Cites  Fable  of  the  Lost  Calf  in  Ramsay's  Poems 
(Edinburgh,  1723),  pp.  275,  276,  as  one  of  the  sources  of 
Das  Gelubde. 
Ill,  ix.     Reference  to  him. 
Richardson.    V,  110  ff.     Criticism  of  Clarissa  and  reference  to  Pamela. 
Rochester,  Earl  of.     IV,  49.     Cites  A  Very  Heroical  Epistle  in  Answer  to 
Ephelia  as  source  of  An  Ephelien. 
V,  102.     Reference  to  him. 
Roscommon,  Earl  of.     Ill,  xviii.     Quotes  from  his  translation  of  Horace. 

94 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn       31 

Sedley,  Sir  Charles.    Ill,  ix.    Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 
Seldon.     I,  65,  footnote  12.     Reference  to  him. 

Shaftesbury.    I,  72,  footnote  24.    Reference  to  Essay  on  the  Freedom  of  Wit 
and  Humour  in  Characteristicks,  I,  98  if. 
V,  97.    Reference  to  him. 
Shakespeare.    I,  xx,  footnote.    Reference  to  him. 

I,  26,  footnote  11.     Quotes  from  King  Henry  VI,  Part  III, 

Act  II,  sc.  3. 
I,  76,  footnote  33. .  Quotes  from  a  speech  of  Iago's  in  Othello. 
I,  123,  footnote.    Reference  to  King  Richard  III,  Act  I,  sc.  1. 
V,  99.    Reference  to  German  translation  of  Julius  Caesar. 
Sidney,  Philip.    Ill,  ix.    Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 
Spence.     I,  117,  footnote  37  (ed.  1757).    Reference  to  Polymetis:    or  an 
Inquiry  Concerning  the  Agreement  between  the  Works  of  the 
Roman  Poets  and  the  Remains  of  the  Antient  Artists,  etc.  (Lon- 
don, 1747),  p.  21. 
I,  135,  footnote.    Reference  to  him. 
Spenser.    V,  197.    Bodmer  refers  to  the  Faerie  Queene. 
Stanley.    I,  25,  footnote  10.    Reference  to  History  of  Philosophy,  Part  III, 

chap,  v,  p.  72. 
Steele.    Ill,  xi.    Reference  to  the  Lover,  No.  40. 

Ill,  196,  footnote  3.    Reference  to  the  Spectator,  No.  196. 
V,  133  ff.    Hagedorn  writes  Ebert,  asking  him  to  translate  The 
Conscious  Lovers. 
Swift.    I,  25,  footnote  10.    Quotes  from  the   Voyage  to  the  Houyhnhnms 
in  Gulliver's  Travels,  chap,  viii,  p.  215. 

I,  142,  footnote  3.     Quotes  from  Essay  on  Modern  Education  in 

Pope's  and  Swift's  Miscellanies  (London,  1736),  III,  182. 

II,  viii.    Cites  Pope's  and  Swift's  Miscellanies,  Vol.  Ill,  the  source 
of  J  a  und  Nein. 

II,  ix.    Cites  Baucis  and  Philemon  as  one  of  the  sources  of  Philemon 

und  Baucis. 
II,  ix.    Cites  Pope's  and  Swift's  Miscellanies,  1731.  Ill,  132-40,  as 

one  of  the  sources  of  Philemon  und  Baucis. 
II,  27,  footnote.    Reference  to  Gulliver's  Travels  and  quotation  from 

Pope's  and  Swift's  Miscellanies,  III,  311. 

II,  141,  footnote  6.    Quotes  from  Swift. 

III,  xii.    Reference  to  Pope's  and  Swift's  Miscellanies,  V,  120. 
V,  99.    Calls  Liscov  "Deutschland's  Swift." 

V,  101.    Reference  to  him. 
V,  120.    Reference  to  him. 
V,  166.    Bodmer  refers  to  him. 
Taylor,  Lord.    V,  63.    Reference  to  him. 

95 


32  Bertha  Reed  Coffman 

Temple,  Wm.    I,  64,  footnote  9.    Reference  to  Memoirs  (1672-79),  p.  245. 
Thomson.    V,  172.    Bodmer  refers  to  Thomson's  Liberty. 

V,  259.  Ebert  writes  to  Hagedorn  (Leipzig,  January  15,  1748) 
that  he  has  recently  studied  the  divine  Thomson  thoroughly 
and  he  can  scarcely  forgive  Brockes  for  translating  him. 
He  sighs  for  Thomson's  poem,  Liberty,  and  cannot  rest  until 
he  can  find  and  admire  Thomson  in  Hagedorn's  company. 
V,  262.    Ebert  writes  to  Hagedorn,  Leipzig,  January  15,  1748: 
"Mich  argert's,  dass  ich  den  Thomson  nicht  mit  habe  ver- 
schreiben  lassen.    Bei  solcher  Gelegenheit  empfinde  ichs  erst 
nicht,  dass  ich   nicht   reich  bin.    Was  fur  eine  herrliche 
Sammlung  von  schonen  Buchern  wollte  ich  haben!    Sie 
sollte  der  Ihrigen  nicht  weichen;  denn  ich  wiirde  mir  die 
Ihrigen  zum  Muster  nehmen." 
V,  266.    Ebert  writes  Hagedorn,  Leipzig,  April  8,  1748:    "Es 
dauert  mich  nur,  dass  ich  ihn  (Giseke)  nicht  im  Englischen 
habe  weiter  bringen  konnen,  ihn,  der  so  wiirdig  ist,  Pope 
und  Thomson  zu  lesen." 
Tickell.    Ill,  ix.    Reference  to  him  as  song  writer. 
Turnbull.    V,  97.    Reference  to  his  edition  of  Shaftesbury's  works. 
Waller.     Ill,  ix.    Reference  to  him  as  a  song  writer. 

Ill,  xvii.    Reference  to  him. 
Wesley,  Samuel.    V,  197.    Bodmer  acknowledges  receipt  from  Hagedorn 

of  Samuel  Wesley's  Poems. 
Winchilsea,  Lady.    II,  v.     Cites  Ardelia  from  Miscellany  Poems  (London, 
1713),  pp.  73-83,  as  one  of  the  sources  of  Das  ge- 
raubte  Schafchen. 
II,  vi.    Cites  Miscellany  Poems,  p.  254,  as  one  of  the 

sources  of  Der  Lowe  und  die  MiXcke. 
II,  vii.     Cites  Miscellany  Poems,  pp.  212,  as  one  of  the 
sources  of  Der  Adler,  die  Sau  und  die  Katze. 
Wollaston.    I,  72,  footnote  25.    Reference  to  Religion  of  Nature,  §§  3-6. 
Young.    I,  xxviii.     Quotes  from  his  Love  of  Fame,  Sat.  I. 

V,  146.     Reference  to  Ebert's  translation  of  Night  Thoughts. 

COLLECTIONS,   ETC. 

II,  viii.    Reference  to  Common  Sense,  or,  the  Englishman's  Journal,  of  the 

year  1737,  Nos.  34,  35,  as  one  of  the  sources  of  Apollo  und  Minerva. 

III,  129,  footnote  1.     Reference  to  Common  Sense,  etc.,  Ill,  280-81. 

Ill,  xxiii.    Reference  to  the  English  collections,    The   Vocal  Miscellany, 
Calliope,  The  Choice,  The  Syren,  The  Lark,  etc. 

96 


English  Literature  and  Friedrich  von  Hagedorn        33 

proverbs,  etc. 
V,    63.    Quotes,  "Never  a  faint  heart  won  a  fair  lady." 
V,    96.    Quotes,  "That  each  good  author  is  as  good  a  friend." 
V,  105.    Quotes,  "What  authors  lose,  their  booksellers  have  won; 

So  pimps  grow  rich,  while  gallants  are  undone." 
V,  121.    Quotes,  "The  greatest  monarch  may  be  stabbed  by  night, 

And  fortune  help  the  murderer  in  his  flight,"  etc. 
V,  141.    Quotes,  "One  moral,  or  a  mere  well-natur'd  deed, 

Can  all  desert  in  sciences  exceed." 

Bertha  Reed  Coffman 
University  op  Montana 


97 


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